Behind the Little Door
by Splash-of-Color
Summary: During a game of hide-and-seek, Alice manages to get thrown into a world that throws her all out of wack. A classic tale turned twisted and dark. Why do things always happen to a girl named Alice?
1. Behind Door Number One

Like most stories, mine begins in the world of the mundane.

It begins with a simple wedding. The wedding of my cousin, Margaret. My cousin and I were not close. We never have been. I am, fortunately enough for me, an introvert. I do not play well with others. I do not _like _others. I tend to sit quietly and wait for someone to tell me it's time to go home where I can read. I like reading. It's different. No two books, well no two well written books, are the same. Each one brings me somewhere new. Somewhere exciting. It brings me…home. Home is an odd word that has been misconstrued through the years as have many words. Many people think home is a house. Home is where your family is, where you grow and learn. Home, in fact, is where you feel alive. Home is where even in the darkest of hours, even in the worst, most terrible situations, we can feel safe. Home is a sanctuary. My home is in books. My house, however, was very real, very firm, and very solid. My parents, much like the rest of my family, were very wealthy. We had a large estate and we housed many people. For those people, my prison was their home.

My parents left the well-being of our estate and my books in the hands of our maid, Lota, while our butler, Hamish, travelled with us to Washington where my cousin's wedding would take place. If you've never been to Washington, I do not suggest it. Yes, it is lovely, but I assure you, it is a Nursery. Tall trees, short trees, Cedar, Hemlock, Pine, Adler and the list goes on and on. As beautiful as the scenery was, I am sorry to tell you that all this state was really made of was trees. Never the less, the attractive green of summer had lost terribly to the early colors of fall. The ground was covered in the orange and red foliage. A thick and creeping fog rolled through the trees and underbrush like an unwanted rat on that November the fourteenth. My family was not a small one. There were quite a few of us. My grandparents had my father, aunt and uncle and from there, it became uncontrollable. My Aunt Jillian, for example had eight children. My parents fortunately only had me.

While the majority of my cousins still roamed the courtyard in diapers or strollers, there were still nine children over the age of eleven who were not willing to be attached to their parent's sides, myself included. Parents roamed and made small talk. I had never understood small talk. It was tedious and boring. Weather and sports. Who in their right minds would talk about something like that? They made polite conversation with strangers they didn't know, made horribly stupid jokes with the people they did know and extended over-due greetings to their family members. Had things gone my way, I would have spent the evening in the library like I had spent the majority of family galas, but I was forced to spend time with my dim-witted, narrow minded cousins. If I had my way, I would have been immersed in a different world, I would have been free. I would have been alive.

"Well hello there Alice." Laura was one year my junior, placing her as one of the eldest in the group. Her voice grated my ear drums. It was a horrid sound. Almost as if she had something in her nose and she couldn't quite get it out.

"Hello," I replied quietly. Many times, they believed my reserved personality was a result of my shy demeanor. They were mistaken of course.

"No books to shove up your nose?" pondered Franklin, three years my junior at fourteen. His hair was floppy and a rusty shade of red. His face and arms and legs were littered with freckles. A quality acquired from his mother. Laura and Daniel had the same unfortunate set of pale skin and wide, light blue eyes that were always lit with curiosity.

"I do not shove them up my nose," I reply steadily. The imbecile wouldn't respond to anger well so logic would be the next best option.

"Then what do you do with them?" responded Owen, one of the youngest at twelve. His hair was blond, like his father's.

"Do you eat them?" asked Jennifer at thirteen. Jennifer had her mother's dark hair and large green eyes while she was granted her father's strong chin and cheek bones.

"I read them."

"You do not," accused Jeffrey. "Those are grown up books." He was my equal. Not on an intellectual level by any means or in any matter really but he was the same age as me. Jeffrey was an attractive young man and often would court young women. None of them lasted very long for when they found Jeffrey to be as boring as I did, they would do the sensible thing and leave him. I cannot pick my family and likewise, I cannot unpick them.

"I'm sorry your small brain does not comprehend those books, Jeffrey, but I can read them quite clearly."

"You think you're so posh because you get to live in England?" snapped Kathy, Laura's equal at sixteen. She was blessed with long golden hair like her father and matched with the elegant green eyes like her brother. We were all from England, really, but Jillian and Stephen decided England was not the place to be. They packed up their spouses and their offspring and brought them across the pond to the states.

"My intellectual superiority has nothing to do with my geographical location. It merely is a product of long, tedious hours of studying and reading and broadening the horizon on which I learn. You, however, are engrossed in things such as playing games and getting dirty." They frowned at once, almost as if they were a collective machine, and looked at each other.

"Were you ever a child?" asked Daniel, Franklin's equal at fourteen.

"Being a child does not mean getting dirty. I have always been like this."

"But you are still a kid!" proclaimed Jeffrey, as if announcing it to himself as well. Unlike me, Jeffrey does not like to do much. He likes to squander away money his parents give him for things such as school. He likes to sleep long hours and spend days lazing out on the green or in town. "We're going to play a game right now."

"What should we play?"

"Red Rover?"

"Jacks?"

"Oh, how about cards?"

"Hide and Seek?"

They conversed without my approval or interjection. I know now that they were only trying to help. They were only trying to make me feel like one of them. Like I belonged. The truth is, though, I never did belong. I never would. They eventually agreed upon playing hide and seek. While all the adults were roaming around the well-tended lawn and moved from little hut to little hut so they wouldn't get lost in the fog, I was being led away by a parade of irresponsible young adults to frolic in the woods like nymphs. They explained to me the rules, which I knew already, and decided Daniel to be "it".

I do not know their logic behind the placing him in the "it" position but I was given no chance to think. They shoved me and told me to hide. If you have ever played a game with young children, you will understand that they are relentless. They never want to stop, they do not care if you're tired, and they only want to play. Kids, my good reader, are mysterious. We think we know them and then they go and do something none of us ever expects. They are smarter than we give them credit for and they are braver than we believe them to be.

The fog was growing thicker. It rolled and moved like the cloud it was. It ate my black shoes and started devouring my long black stockings. By the time I was hidden behind a rather large pine, it crawled up to my blue skirt and was slowly consuming me. I looked out in search of someone to confirm I was in fact playing correctly but there was no one. The fog was thick. A blanket of grey covered the forest and I barely saw the tree mere feet away from my own.

"Alice!" Jennifer whispered to me. I could not see her. Her voice was omnipresent. "I can see you." Her whisper seemed to move through the shadows like a ghost.

"Hide Alice! Hide!" Franklin added. The words chilled me but I complied; I ran further into the trees. Surely Daniel would never find me this far.

"Alice," said Laura. "What are you doing? He'll find you!" Again I looked around and saw no one.

"Laura," I whispered.

"Ten!" shouted Daniel. I frowned and continued to move from tree to tree.

"Am I far enough yet?" I called out softly.

"Fourteen!" His voice was closer to me than I thought. My heart pounded. I looked around in search of a new place to hide. "Fifteen!" _I have to find a place to hide._ I spun around and made my way as carefully as I could to the next tree and to the next. "Twenty! Ready or not here I come!" Daniel's voice was clear, as though he weren't miles away from me. I was going to lose a game of hide and seek. A simple game that children played. My pride would not let that happen. I pushed my way through a bush and stumbled, quickly picking myself up, snagging up the ends of my dress. I had to hide somewhere—anywhere would do. It was then did I find myself in front of a set of stairs over grown by wet grass and moss.

"How queer," I said to myself as I climbed them. They were slippery and dangerous but I managed. Beyond those stairs was a door. It was a plain door, no garnish or ornament. It was just simple wood with a dark and heavy metal handle and similar hinges. They were coming. _They'd never find me in here, _I thought to myself. I smirked to myself, so very proud I had bested my cousins, and pushed the door into the darkness, following after it quickly. Inside was black as night, if not darker. It was a terrifying black. A black that consumed me and swallowed me up, almost like the fog had. I closed the door and pressed my back against in. Now the darkness really had swallowed me up. A fear of the dark is rather unreasonable. It is not the darkness people fear but instead the fear of something _in _the darkness. Something that will cause them harm. Something that they do not know. I did not know a lot of things then, and I still don't, but I do not fear the unknown. I find it illogical. There are many things we do not know in life. Would you rather sit back in fear or experience and learn? I decided to learn.

"What is this place?" I asked the darkness, as if it would answer me. I took a step forward and reached out for the wall, expecting to touch a cool, damp surface, as was a reasonable conclusion from the state of the exterior. Instead, I found nothing. I found emptiness. My feet moved forward and they too found emptiness. I felt my stomach rise in my throat as I took a stead and terrifying trip downwards. I could not help the scream that bubbled out of me. The whole world rush around me. At first it was only darkness. Upwards, downwards, left, right back and front. Then, the whole darkness gave way to colors. They were bright ones that strained my eyes. There were swirls of pinks, bright yellows, greens, and blues combining together to form a rainbow of color. Shapes came next. Squares, triangles, circles and shapes I had never seen before. Then the noises.

Laughter, plates shattering, gun shots, even singing and finally, as the crescendo of the orchestra reached its peak, a caw of a bird broke the noise and left only silence. The floor then came up to meet me. I was lying on my back which I was sure was broken. It only made sense. I opened my eyes to inspect the damage done to my limbs. I was in a sort of house with very bad taste in wallpaper. The walls were covered in diamonds and clubs and hearts and spades from ceiling to floor colored black and white. I wiggled my fingers. They worked. I wiggled my toes. They worked as well. I took a deep breath and felt no pain. I tried to sit up. I sat up without a problem. That did not make any sense. I inspected myself and then the floor in search of an explanation.

"Who are you?" A stentorian voice demanded of me. After a moment of assuring myself I was fine, I rose to my. The room was empty save for a table. It wasn't a long dinner table or even a bed side table. It was a small, circular table that sat in its solidarity. Nothing sat upon the table. Nothing sat under it, nothing was even near it. Nothing was in the room. Just me. I looked away for a moment, trying to find a door of some sort where I might be able to leave through but to no avail.

"Hello?" I called out. "Is anyone here?" I looked at the ceiling. Well, I tried to. The room extended upwards without end. It was like staring at a large building expecting to see the top and finding it just goes on for miles.

"Answer my question first!" The voice snapped again, making me jump.

"Who's there?" I snapped hastily. "I want to know who is talking to me. Who are you?"

"There is no time for silly questions! Where do you come from, Alice?"

"I will not talk to a faceless, cowardly brute!" I announced, straightening my shoulders.

"I am not a coward, madam, and you will do well to remember that!" snapped the voice. I turned around and around, trying to find the source of the talking. The room began to spin. I reached out for the table to steady myself. The table shook under my weight and I steadied it. Upon the table suddenly was a rabbit. His long white ears reached upwards and his stubby army cushioned his fall. I helped him sit up before eventually picking him up. He had an eye patch.

"Are you the one talking to me, Mr. Bunny?" I asked it gently. Its little black eye stared out at me emptily and I sighed. "If you were, I'd tell you to be polite. There's no need to yell. I'm right here." I sighed, feeling overwhelmed and tired already. "Then I'd ask you to help me get out of here." I looked up and searched once more for a door. It is said that doing the same thing repeatedly while expecting different results is insanity. Then again, after falling through an endless black hole into a room with appearing tables seems to be bordering insanity. When I turned my eyes back to the bunny to ask him a question, he had grown eyebrows that were furrowed. His mouth was no longer stitched into his face but rather pressed in a firm, hard frown.

"Of course I was talking to you, you stupid girl!" I let out a scream as I dropped the bunny. The bunny picked itself up grumpily and brushed itself off with stubby little arms. I watched as he put his stubby arms on his hips. "Well, that is not a nice way to treat people even if they are small!" He made the gesture to his small frame.

"You are the one who spoke to me?" I asked, my heart still ready to beat out of my chest.

"Of course I was! Didn't you hear me?"

"You're a rabbit. A stuffed rabbit."

"And you're an Alice. What does that have to do with anything? Have you seen TW?"

"T what?"

"TW. Where is he? TW!" I was surprised that for such a small inanimate object, he had a very loud voice.

"What are you? Do you have a name?"

"Are you deaf girl? I just told you! The White Rabbit is my name!" He threw his arms in the air and dropped them by his side. He hadn't told me his name but then again, angry people tend to get angrier if you correct them. I nodded.

"Of course, my mistake."

"First right thing you've said all bloody day."

"I beg your pardon!" I shouted. "I say plenty of intelligent things!"

"Would you like a medal?" he chided. "Now where is that boy?"

"TR?" I looked around and it wasn't until I saw the wall start to crawl out did I scream again. I moved until my back was pressed against the other side of the room and my eyes bulged out of my head. "Why must you torment all the new guests? We don't get many these days." The wall-thing commented as it continued to pull away from the wall. The pattern slipped away from the creature and in its stead was a boy.

He wore a long sleeved white shirt that looked much too big for him, which was covered with a red vest and a bow tie that seemed to be made of string. His slacks were a deep black that seemed uniform. He had long rabbit-like ears that came from his head and drooped down to reach just below his pale white hair. He stood over the little bunny, his hands in his pockets.

"I was looking for you!" snapped the bunny.

"I was making a watch." He said shrugging. He turned to me and smiled. He had a pair of the bluest eyes I had ever seen. No, they weren't blue. They were turquoise. They were the color of the Caribbean Sea. He looked to be a few years my senior and I couldn't deny he was indeed very handsome. I had never really taken an interest in young men. Well I had but unfortunately for me, my inability to provide the correct mannerisms to catch their attention has left me with admiring them from afar. "Hello," he said pleasantly, holding out his hand. "I'm sorry TR scared you."

"TR? I thought your name was the White Rabbit." I managed out. The little bunny glared, if his beady eyes could do that, at the boy.

"I'm The Rabbit," the bunny said curtly. "TR is a nickname."

"And I'm The White." The boy contributed. "We are one." I bobbed a polite curtsy.

"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Alice. If it's not too much trouble, do you mind telling me where I am?"

"You are in the Null," said the two together. I nodded. Of course I was.

"The Null?"

"This is the place where…well I guess you could say our worlds meet." TW explained.

"You can't get into our world unless you come here."

"As a welcoming present," TW said as he picked up TR. "We give you this!" He held out TR. He held him too close to my face and I leaned back to get away from him. TR reluctantly reached out his hands. In between them was a small bottle.

"What is it?" I asked as I plucked it from his hands.

"It's something that might come in handy." TW said smiling. There was nothing special about the bottle. The liquid inside was clear, I think, but the bottle was a pale blue color. On a string was a tag. Neither side was written on. "What's this?" I asked the two as I looked up from the tag to them.

"Read it, silly," said TW. I looked back down at the tag and on the back of the card, black ink was scrawled over the cream colored paper.

"_Just a sip will make you tall_

_But beware of the floors and walls_

_Or maybe it will make you small_

_Then you must beware of things that fall._"

"What a silly little riddle." I turned over the card once more, hoping to find instructions that had magically appeared but there were none.

"That 'silly little riddle' you stupid girl," TR said, "helped many people through Wonderland."

"The bottle, though may seem full of just liquid, is more important than anything." TW added. "It is even more important than your life. However," he said with a small huff. "We have no knowledge of how to use it. Only the Queen of Hearts knows."

"Queen of Hearts? What do you think I am a fool? That's a card, not a person."

"If you want to make sure that there is no queen of hearts, then go through this door. Follow the road shown and you will be brought to the nonexistent Queen of Hearts." TR said with a grin in his voice. I looked at the door and sighed. Of course there would be a door. Why wouldn't there be? I hadn't found one before but now there was one. I stood up a little straighter to spite the rabbit. I would go. Just to prove him wrong. The door, however, was about the size of the rabbit.

"How do you expect me to get through this?" TW stood behind me with a small cookie.

"Only a bite," said the boy with a smile. "Or you'll get sick."

"No riddle for this?" I demanded as I took a small bite of the cookie. He grinned and shrugged.

"There is one if you'd like to hear it." I nodded a little and looked at the cookie. "_Nibble, nibble, crunch, crunch, one bite will make your bones easy to munch._" My eyes went wide and TW grinned. "I'm just kidding, Alice. _Too much, too little, it's all chance. If you don't want to die, you should hang onto your pants. Take a bite and get either or. Just pray that you can return to how you were before._" I frowned and shook my head.

"That was a stupid riddle too." I mumbled. I realized, suddenly, that TW and TR were huge. "How did you get so big?"

"You took a chance and now you're just right to go through the door."

"Don't get lost," TR said as he stared down at me. I sneered, turned on my heels and turned my nose high in the air.

"Be careful, Alice," the two warned. "Things beyond that door can be nice, but most are not. More often than not, you will find a face that will seem kind yet has a thousand lies behind it." A clock fell in front of me and I looked up at it. It was a normal sized watch but to me, it was very large. I could see in my shrunken state how delicately it had been made. There was so much detail on the watch it made me frown. The face of the watch was protected by a cover that exposed enough of the clock to show the time. That, too, was intimately designed with swirls and circles. The hands, a gleaming silver color, ticked by slowly.

"Keep the watch, Alice." TR said. "It will keep you in line. The longest anyone ever stays here is measured by that clock. If you do not make it out before the hand makes a full rotation…Well the consequences may be deadly." TW smiled at me and shrugged.

"Or it'd just be a bit of bad luck for you that you won't get back to your party." I frowned and watched as the two walked passed me and the clock and through a wall. TW's head poked back in, right about my level. His eyes were almost as big as I was and I felt I could swim in them.

"Until we meet again, Alice." He said with a wink before disappearing.

"Did you make this watch?" I shouted out. He came back in and smiled.

"I did."

"It's beautiful."

"I was hoping you'd say that," he said. "I made it to reflect its owner." I frowned and felt the heat rise to my cheeks. He meant me. "Keep it safe. I'd take it personally if you lost it." I nodded a little. He smiled more at me and dipped his head. "I'll see you soon." I nodded mindlessly. I looked up at the hanging watch defiantly. The moment I touched it, the watch shrunk and fell into my hand. I opened the watch and stared for a moment at the face. The pale white face stared back at me, a bright, blinding white that contrasted beautifully with the rest of the watch. Even the chain was black and sturdy. He had gone through so much trouble to make that watch. _Does he make all the watches, _I asked myself. I looked at the door, straightened my shoulders, took a deep breath, and started forward. If I was going to find the Queen of Hearts, I would have to take my first steps.

No journey can begin without the first two steps.


	2. The Cowardly Lion

Once again, I found myself falling. I found myself tumbling through the open air with my stomach in my throat, ready to burst. Just as I felt my stomach about to spill out, I hit water. Like hitting a sheet of glass, my limbs ached and became numb. Water filled my nose and mouth and I tried to find air. My limbs flailed frantically, trying to lift me back to the surface, back to the air. My lungs felt like ice as I finally broke the surface. The air was cold and crisp, the water icy. I gasped for air, aching and in pain. Gasping, I waded for a moment to gather my bearings. I was in a river. It flowed slowly and carelessly and I was slowly making my way down towards the mouth.

I swam to the river bank as best as I could. My dress weighed me down. I finally got out of the river and rung out my dress a few times. Droplets still fell to the grass but I chose to ignore it and press on. The sun in the sky, whatever small pieces of it I could see passed the tall trees, wasn't yellow. No it was green—a bright neon green in fact. It still gave off warmth and comfort but it also gave the world a greenhouse sort of look. While that green sun was just hanging around, I couldn't help but notice that the sky was a purple color. Not the royal color that meant like the nighttime sky, but rather the periwinkle color. It was little kid's coloring book. The trees, if you could call them that were a pink while their leaves were a butterscotch color. The grass was blue and the stones were a bright orange. The trees began to give way to these tall blue things. Their petals were a mix of white and black and green and purple and colors I couldn't even describe. I walked on for what felt like hours, the green sun slowly sinking above me. I heaved and tried to catch my breath. I pushed on until my feet were so sore I had to stop and lean against a flower for support.

"Well _excuse_ me!" I heard a voice boom. As gentle as the voice was, it was still very loud. "How rude! What sort of creature goes around touching flowers like that?" I didn't have time to blush because it was suddenly washed away by fear—undeniable, knee-knocking fear. If you have never seen a giant flower move to look down at you, I'll give you some help. It's as if a mountain grew a face, stood up and stared down at you shouting, 'I am god. You are an insignificant speck. Bow down before me!'

"Why look!" Another flower said. "It's a human!" As if they had hands, a vine wrapped itself around my food and picked me up. I was hanging upside down, my hands futilely trying to keep my dress from falling over my face and exposing my stockings.

"An ugly one at that!" A giggly voice sang.

"Hey!" I shouted, trying to push the apron out of my face as well. "I am not ugly!"

"What a horrid voice!" Another said.

"I bet even the weeds wouldn't like her!" A flower teased. I bit my lip hard, fighting the tears I knew would could. They didn't have to be so mean to me you know. They were just stupid flowers. _They_ were the ugly ones. They didn't have pretty colors or anything.

"We haven't had a human here in a long time," One of them said.

"They aren't very favorable with the Queen."

"What are you doing here, young Human?"

"I..I fell," I mumbled.

"What a clumsy human."

"I'm not clumsy."

"Well if you fell you certainly are clumsy."

"It wasn't my fault! I was trying to hide!"

"Were you in danger?"

"She'll certainly be in danger now," They collectively giggled.

"What do you mean?"

"You came at a very bad time, young Human."

"The countries are in a very bad state."

"What do you mean?" I repeated.

"Unfortunately, you stumbled upon a war, young one."

"A war? Between whom?"

"Between ourselves,"

"Oh I do hate this war so," said one flower.

"Oh it is terrible."

"Did you hear," started one, "that Janie's sisters brother's uncle is in this war? I told them, I told them all! Never get involved with a woman and her unfaithful husband."

"I'm still confused," I said. "Who is having the war?"

"Oh! Well, rumor has it that Queen and her Hubby are having a terrible squabble and the whole country has chosen sides."

"Not us, though," said the flowers. "We are neutral! Never liked war."

"Too much mess."

"I don't like war either!" I added, hoping to gain favor.

"You're young, human, how would you know of war?"

"What should wedo with her?"

"Put her back," the first flower said as she waved her green leaf. "She's of no use to us." I nodded.

"What she said!" I declared as I pointed to the flower, making the apron fall in my face.

"Daisies," a distant voice said. The flowers hushed and a lone daisy far away from the others looked at me. This flower was the most beautiful of all. She had lush pink petals while they tangled with a pale shade of purple and blue, her face a yellow while her black beady eyes stared at me. "I know what to do with her." The daisy announced.

"What?" The others asked.

"Throw her to the lions of course." I blinked. Lions! They were going to feed me to lions.

"The lions! Even that's a little mean." One flower said. The head flower, I assumed she was, gave the flower a dirty look and thus, silencing her words.

"Suppose all's fair in love and war," muttered one.

"No use trying to argue with her then."

"To the Lions." The flower announced. The other flowers murmured as I was passed like bread at the dinner table. I tried to pry the vine from my ankle but it just didn't work. It wasn't until I felt the world rush around my head did I start to scream and freak out. I hit the blue grass and started to roll down a hill until I rolled into a tree. Or something that felt like a tree. I would have continued thinking it was a tree if it didn't roar. I pushed myself up slowly, begging that it wasn't a lion. Instead, it was a dandelion. A flower. A flower that roared at me and scooped down to eat me. I jumped out of the way and started to run for it.

Like a chorus reaching the crescendo of a song, the lions all roared at once and it only made my heart speed up. I ran faster. I needed to escape. I need to stay alive. I continued running, even when the lions snapped at me and tried to get my legs. I stumbled over rocks and the lion's roots, which tried to trip me. I ran for what seemed like forever. I knew I wouldn't last much longer. I ran through flowers, who all shouted out "hey" and "what are you doing". I ran through tall grass and I jumped over branches. The flowers didn't let up though. They viciously came at me.

"Help!" I don't know why I called that out, since no one was around except the lions.

"Over here." I heard a faint voice call. So faint I barely heard it. I missed it actually. I ran right passed whoever called out to me. When I realized my mistake, I quickly changed my course through the grass and searched for the voice. I had no time to think. If someone was going to help I'd take it. I ran forward until I saw another lion. I took a step back but realized that it wasn't like the others. It was wilted. I looked around and found it was in the shade of tall trees. No sun reached the flower.

"Hello." It said softly as its petals opened up to look at me. I smiled a little, looking over my shoulder. "Come closer." He whispered. So I did. I moved forward, staring at the flower. Its petals weren't beautiful. In fact, they were the ugliest I've ever seen. They were a mix of brown and black, the face just two dots and a mouth. It looked so lonely. "My name is Leo." He said softly. I smiled a little, moving forward when I heard the lions roar once more.

"My name is Alice. Nice to meet you." I said with a curtsy. He smiled and leaned forward to look at me.

"What are you doing in a place like this Alice?" he whispered.

"I fell." I admitted once more. I had forgotten about my pride. "I was playing a game and I found this door. The door led me to these two things and they gave me this watch and told me to find the Queen of Hearts. I fell again and I was talking to flowers and they dropped me here, but they wanted to eat me instead. I don't know what is going on, Leo. I really don't. I'm so lost and tired….and hungry and sore and I want to go home." I said as I shook my head, tears formed in my eyes. "I want to go home. I feel too weak to carry on."

"Alice," the flower said to me. "You must look at it in a good sense. Now, it's raining on you but you're going to grow because you were watered right. There will be a sun that will give you energy and you will find what it is you are looking for." He said wisely. I stared at him. He gave me a small smile. "Now, hush, child. We'll figure out a way for you to get home, yes? The Queen's castle is that way." A small leaf lifted to point to the left. "Go to the end of this grassy area and there should be a road or something and that will lead you towards the queen."

"Are you sure?" I asked, my heart giving a squeeze. I didn't think I was ready for more excitement. Leo nodded and pointed again.

"That way for sure." He said with a hint of fear. "She's passed the Caterpillar and passed the Tea House. You must get passed the dreaded Whites and passed the Black Hare. She lives in Flamingo Village. Her whole castle is made of cards and her soldiers are vicious chess pieces that destroy anything in sight." I nodded. "But perhaps you can stay here for a moment to rest. Find some peace for a moment. I'm afraid you won't find it anywhere else." I sat down on the ground with a sigh.

"I fear I won't find anything in this place."

"You'll find a lot," said Leo. "Some of it, most of it actually, will be things you don't want to find. You won't have much choice in the matter but it will happen. Some things you will learn about yourself. Things you never knew you could do or had in you. This place does that to you."

"Have you found parts yourself?"

"I am a mere flower, my dear girl," he said smiling. "I am nothing. You, though, are something special. I can feel it."

"You're not nothing!" I proclaimed.

"I am," he replied sadly. He was still smiling though.

"You're kind and wise! And…you're helpful!"

"I am nothing, Alice. I am a flower doing its duty. Living and breathing and adding some aesthetic pleasure to the place. Even if I'm not a very pretty flower."

"You are a wonderful flower!"

"Thank you," he said smiling. "Not many people say that."

"Then they are blind!"

"You are too sweet, Alice." I smile a little, feeling better about being trapped in that place.

"Leo can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"The flowers said something about a war. Do you know about that?" He paused, as if letting the information sink in.

"The war," he began slowly, "has been a very big problem here in Wonderland."

"Why?"

"We are peaceful, you see," he said. "We always have been. The queen is a wonderful woman. Her husband, though, was not so wonderful. He was great first but he grew more and more unfaithful. So, she kicked him out. I don't know all of the details. None of us do. The whole country has been at war for years. Each side has taken up arms and it's dangerous to be anywhere in their stead. The others are worried and the Spades are moving in. Making all sorts of deals."

"How do you know this?"

"People talk. And where there are people, there are trees. Gossip, Alice, is a terrible wild fire that spreads through the world like a disease. Many people know what goes on in the House of Hearts and many fight valiantly for her. There are many, though, that fight against her and just as many fight against them both. War, Alice, is a hard thing to fight off. It, too, is a disease. It becomes a part of you. Soon, it becomes all you know. Then, it consumes you and drives you. You lose who you are and what you believe in. It has happened to far too many and it will happen to many more."

"That's sad," I told him.

"Aye, war is sad." He sighed. "If you will be going to the Queen, I suggest you do your best to avoid her husband."

"Thank you very much, Leo, I certainly feel better."

"Alice," he said softly. "Will you make me a promise?" I nodded a little. His eyes were sad but full of hope. "Will you come back, before you leave? I would like to see you again. It was nice to have someone to talk to every once in a while."

"You don't have friends to spend time with?"

"No one wants to spend time with someone who looks like me." I frowned but he offered me a smile. "It's ok, Miss Alice. I'll just be waiting for you."

"I'll be back then Leo. I'll be here before I leave this…place." I said as I nodded. He did his best to bow and I started through the tall grass blades. "Bye for now, Leo."

"Bye for now, Miss Alice." He said, his voice drifting away as I passed through the grass. It felt like the grass was going to encase me. I pushed through, moving my feet even faster when I heard the roaring of the lions once more. They were far away from me now but I was still cautious. No need to risk running into them. I looked up to check the position of the sun so I could possibly tell the time but unfortunately, gravity and I are on bad terms.


	3. Back to Basics

After having fallen to my face, I looked up from where I lay and sighed. Falling certainly was a hazard I'd need to keep an eye on. However, I doubted that even if I were to look out for opportunities in which I was to fall, I'd only find myself falling anyway. Standing, I brush off my quickly dirtying dress. The hairs on the back of my neck started to rise as I rubbed my aching limbs. After falling so many times, it eventually got to me. It might have been the placebo effect that I felt the pain, but none-the-less, I felt pain. I also felt the distinct feeling that someone was watching me. That feeling, the tiny feeling, that there's someone looking at you and you have that impulse to look around. That feeling tickled in the back of my mind.

So I stopped. I stiffened, as would anyone who was being followed, and took a deep breath. I looked behind me slowly, inspecting the rest of the area. The trees were quiet and the tall grass was still. The path I was on was quiet. No one was behind me. No one was in front of me. I continued on, the stillness of the air making me nervous. No breeze tickled my hair, no songs came from the birds, if there were any birds in this place. The quiet grew louder. I had never thought silence could be so loud.

"Whoever is there," I announced, stopping once more, "better stop it. I don't like being followed." Nothing moved and nothing changed. Stiffly, I squared my shoulders, heaved a sigh, and put my hand on my head. "Maybe I have a bump somewhere." I started forward again but when I glanced down at the ground, I immediately stopped. By the time I had challenged the invisible being four cat footprints imprinted themselves on the dirt in front of me. They were behind me as well. I ground my teeth. "I can only imagine what you are. You are probably big and scary and I don't care. You are not going to intimidate me. I will not be bullied anymore. You show yourself right now or else."

Nothing happened.

There was a glimmer of purple over by my left. I turned on it quickly but the purple disappeared in the darkness. The sun was slowly sinking. It had felt like seconds had gone by. I knew it had been hours, two or three at the most, but it felt like mere moments ago I was standing with TR and TW. Now, I was on a path towards the castle of the Queen of Hearts and for all I knew, being stalked by some purple monster. I decided to put it out of my mind. I would _not _let this get me. I was going to get to the Queen and I was going to get home. I was going to get a new dress and I was going to spend quiet summer evenings at home in England. I just needed to do this first.

As I walked, the tall grass gave way to mushrooms that cast long shadows over the ground. Though the grass and the mushrooms were plentiful, there was one mushroom that cleared the grass away. It was bigger than most. It was larger than the others and loomed over me like buildings. Once more, I heard someone clear their throat. It came from above me. I stepped out from beneath the mushroom and looked around. In the air rings of smoke floated about in the shape of women. Another came up in the shape of a diamond, then a heart, and a club, and a spade.

"What good artwork."

"Thank you." I looked up at the person on the mushroom, but it was massive. I climbed up on a rock and then onto the mushroom, struggling as I kicked my little legs until I got over the edge. Smoke hit my face. It smelled sweet but it made me cough. The smoke disappeared above my head and a voice that was leather smooth rang out. "Whoooo are you?" a man asked me. I waved my hand around and tried to dissipate the smoke from my face.

"My name is Alice," I replied warily. "Who might you be?"

"Who I am is not important, but what is important why you are here." He was lounging on a large mushroom, his lips around a long cigarette. He looked somehow elegant and sophisticated. He wore a deep coal colored top hat over his long strawberry blond hair, albeit skewed to cover his eyes from the dwindling sun. He wore a long red jacket that was fanned out around him. His black glove-covered hands were behind his head and his teeth were holding the cigarette from which he smoked. His long legs were concealed in neatly pressed black dress pants that went well with his pressed white shirt and black tie. I started forward towards him to explain my situation when he lifted a hand to stop me. He exhaled some bright green smoke.

"Be careful," he said smiling. "It's not very stable there." I nodded and started forward, watching my step. He blew a ring of smoke around my head. "Now, what are you doing here Miss Alice?" he asked me. I swatted the smoke away again and sighed. He occasionally blew out a shape, a heart or an animal.

"Well, I am here—"

"Miss Alice!" The man said, his eyes opening finally to stare at me. He's crystal blue eyes were truly beautiful. They were wild as he reached over to place his cigarette in a holder the mushroom had made for him. I hadn't noticed it before, but there is sat, waiting and read. He sat up, put his arms on his knees and grinned at me. "You must address the person you are speaking to."

"Mister…" A grin grew on my face, mirroring his. "I'm afraid I don't know you're name. You said that knowing your name is not important." The feeling of victory spread through me and I couldn't help but stand a little taller.

"I am always right, dear Alice." He proclaimed as he leaned back and closed his eyes once more, the vines moving to bring him his cigarette. "My name isn't important enough for you to know, that is why you must address me as 'Sir.'" I nodded, feeling broken again, and cleared my throat half-heartedly.

"Sir," I said grumpily. "I am here to find my way home." He lifted a lid once more. He didn't seem too impressed with me.

"That's silly my child. You are here to find your way home? Impossible! Why would you come here in the first place if you just wanted to leave?" He resumed his previous lounging position, putting a new cigarette in his mouth.

"No, you misunderstand. I came here because I fell in and after I fell in, the stupid—"

"Look at the person you're speaking to, young lady. And, if you want them to understand you, you'll need to annunciate when you talk." I sighed again and clenched my jaw. What an annoying young man. He didn't even look that much older than me. Who was he to tell me how to act?

"I am here because I was playing a game with my cousins and I fell through a door!" I shouted as I put my hands on my hips. He started to laugh. Not just a chuckle or a giggle. No. He laughed full and deep from the pit of his stomach.

"And?" he prompted. "What is the purpose of getting angry at me when you're the one who fell through a door? Is it not your mistake that brought you here? I have no fault in your clumsiness. What else are you going to complain about, Miss Alice?" I didn't want to say anything to him. I started to turn away but he started to laugh at me again. "I suppose you have _yet _to meet a friend here in Wonderland?"

"I met TW and TR," I said proudly as I turned around. "They told me that I had to find the queen if I wanted to go home." He nodded slowly but said nothing for a long moment. "And Leo! He was great! He made me feel better and gave me directions."

"They are an interesting pair," he informed before he took a long drag of his cigarette. "Did they give you something, by any chance?" He blew the smoke in my face again and it turned into a big, blue ticking clock. My eyes widened as I stared at the clock and tried to keep my cough locked in my throat as the smoke dissipated around my head.

"How'd you know?" I asked as I reached for the gold watch that lay in my pocket. Only, it wasn't there. "Oh no!" I shouted as I searched the mushroom for it. "My watch! How am I ever going to get home?" I started towards the edge of the mushroom hoping to find it on the ground. "Where did you go you dumb watch?" I muttered to the ground quietly, in hopes that the bloody thing would hear me and come running back.

"I know where it is," said the man.

"How—" I spun to look at him.

"I have it." He laughed again and swung the small watch from his fingers. As it swung, I saw the hour hand was on the three. How did that happen? When did it move? What did that even mean? I get that your time was measured by the clock but….how does the clock move? Was there a different time zone here or something? What was the time in this place? "You don't have much time left, dear Alice."

"Do you know about the watch?" I said animatedly. I walked closer to him. "What does it mean? Why do I have to have the stupid thing anyway?" The man smiled.

"Shouldn't you have asked that of the people who gave it to you?" he asked me. I pouted and watched as he lifted the watch to further examine it.

"He didn't give me a chance!" I complained as the man grinned. He shook his head solemnly, sobering from his giggling fit.

"It's not polite to yell." He said smiling. I sighed and rubbed my eyes. He was really getting on my nerves now. "And, Miss Alice, you should not blame people for the mistakes you made. It's not right. Nor is it a good habit to get into. If you blame other people, you will grow selfish and bitter. Correct your mistakes on your own and do not wait for someone else to change them for you."

"Well then, may I have my watch so I can find the queen and fix my problem?" I asked as I held out my hand. "I'm done wasting my time here."

"You can never waste time, my dear." He said prophetically. "The only thing wasted is the experience." He threw me the watch and as I tried to catch it, I fell over and landed in the dirt. He stood and got off the mushroom to stand on another mushroom just below it. "You'll need a bit of help if you're going to continue on in this world of ours." He took another long, elegant drag of the stick. He blew out the smoke in the shape of a vile. "Like the vile they gave you, this mushroom will give you a little bit of this and a little bit of that. One side will make you wiser, the other, curiouser."

"Curiouser is not a word." I said as I brushed off my dress.

"It isn't?" He asked as he jumped off the mushroom and handed the pieces to me. "I suppose you are correct, Miss Alice."

"I thought you said you were always right," I said crossing my arms.

"Well I am right by proclaiming you are right, am I not?" I frowned and thought it over. "That's right. Now, do be a good girl and watch your step. It seems you have had a serious problem with gravity recently." I nodded slowly, wondering how he knew about my problem with falling, and thanked him quietly for the advice. "And keep an eye on your watch. You won't be able to leave without it." I placed the watch in my pocket again and he shook his head. "Why not use a chain?" he offered before a gold chain appeared in his hands. I looked back at him and he held it one the end of his fingers. I walked back and took it from him, heading away again.

"Thank you again," I said as I nodded.

"Miss Alice," the man said. I turned around to look at him. "You didn't take the mushrooms." I didn't want the mushrooms. I had certainly had enough of him. I was going to lose my temper and he was going to push me to the edge and laugh while I fell. Metaphorically so. "You know it's very rude to ignore a gift." I turned to him for the third time, sighed and nodded before heading back, trying not to stomp my feet into the mushroom. He handed me the small mushroom pieces and smiled.

"How do I know which one will make me wiser and the other…curiouser?"

"Are you a betting girl, Miss Alice?"

"No, Sir. I was taught gambling is wrong."

"It is, but perhaps, there are some wise words I can tell you about such an event. It is a lesson that is most important."

"I really do not like lessons, Sir."

"This one, you might." I frowned and crossed my arms over my chest. "How doth the little crocodile improve his shining tail?" He blew out a spotted crocodile that glittered in the light. "To pour the waters of the Nile on every glimmering scale? With one bite, one lick, one tiny taste, it may be the tortoise, not the hare, that wins an unfair race."

"But the tortoise _did _win the race, Sir."

"Well, which one are you, Miss Alice? The tortoise or the hare?" I stared at him and he bowed his head, taking his hat off to lean forward. "It was a pleasure, Miss Alice." I nodded a little and turned away.

"Sir," I started as I turned around, curiosity getting the better of me.

"Yes, Miss Alice?"

"This war, has it affected you?"

"Oh it has affected the entire country!"

"What would you have done to stop this?" He paused.

"You're asking me?"

"Of course," I said. "You live here, don't you?"

"Well, getting rid of the King would be the easiest way. Then cut off the King Supporters, find a way to break the deal with the King and the Diamonds and get them on our good side. The Queen of Diamonds isn't a big fan of our Queen."

"Why?"

"Longtime rivals I think." I nodded.

"Where's the Flamingo garden?"

"Oh, that's the garden behind the castle. The Queen likes to play games. She did, at least. I don't know anymore."

"I heard from someone she liked to play games," I replied.

"Yes, Leo likes to keep an eye on things. He has a good ear for gossip. Much like the rest of those weeds."

"Leo isn't a weed."

"No," he replied, a hint of fondness in his voice. "But he unfortunately is rooted with them."

"How close are the Diamonds and the King?"

"Very."

"Have you heard any rumors about mutiny?"

"You don't think they'd attack, do you?" he giggled.

"Don't you? When would be a better time to take away the thrown and power than when there is a civil war? The country is split and weak. There is nothing the queen could do unless she decides to abandon this war and fight that one. It's certainly how I'd take over if I were queen."

"Perhaps you should be queen."

"I wouldn't be very good. Too many people like you to worry about."

"Oh?"

"I would want to hang you for being so annoying."

"Hm," he said softly. "Well, I suppose if you wanted to kill me, hanging would be a good way to do it."

"Tell me," I said. "What is your problem with the King?"

"He's not very favorable. He doesn't necessarily like the rest of us. He tends to…think us below him. The queen, though, likes to think of us as her children. She loves us and wants to help us and support us. He wants to rule us. He wants us to be subordinate." I nodded.

"Any advice if I run into him?" He grinned.

"Don't." I nodded my thanks and headed back towards the way I had come. "Oh, Miss Alice?" I tuned again. "Aren't you going to say goodbye to me?" He asked. His smile was kind and somehow attractive.

"Goodbye, Sir." I said as I practiced my curtsey.

"Please, dear child, it's Caterpillar. If you should ever need a lesson, be sure to mention me." He said as he climbed the mushroom one more, took his pipe and sat to make large colorful clouds of smoke, merrily laughing to himself. I rolled my eyes and started away once more. What an odd man. "Oh Alice!" said the Caterpillar. "You might want to find the Hatter! He can explain your clock better than I can!" I tried to look back over the grass but he had seemed to disappear without me realizing it. I started away and pondered over his advice.

"What sort of madness is a Hatter?" I asked myself.


	4. Keep an Eye on the Cat

While I was walking through those giant leaves, I couldn't help but think about that stupid Caterpillar. What the hell did he mean by "find the hatter"? Who was that? What was he? Who was he? Was he safe? What if he was a jerk like the Caterpillar? I sighed and figured I'd leave Mr. Caterpillar to his own devices and put him far from my mind. I suddenly got that feeling again; the one that someone was watching me. Someone was following me. I glanced around and as I did, I heard whistling. I heard a soft whistling from behind me and then again from my right. I walked faster while my heart raced.

I ran as fast as my legs would carry me. I needed to get there, even if I didn't know where there was. Would they help me or just waste my time? Better yet, were they going to eat me? There were certainly very even odds that I could be eaten or helped. The whistling grew faint once more. I slowed and turned around, my chest heaving and my lungs desperately trying to drag air into them to bring oxygen to my muscles. Whilst searching for the culprate who successfully scared me half to death, I tripped over a branch—or something like it—and fell forward into a tree.

"Are you ok?" I heard someone ask. I looked up and found a boy, probably my age or a year older. He had purple hair, about to his ears. Only….he had cat ears. He had two big purple cat ears on top of his head. He had a frown on his face, which I could tell was not something that happened often, and his purple eyes were wide with confusion and interest. He wore a black and white stripped sweater, which made me feel even dizzier. He had a yellow scarf around his neck and it only made his attire even more confusing. He held out a slender hand to me and I stared at it. "Hellooooo?" he asked. I winced. Oh, his voice made my head hurt more. I took his hand and stood up, hoping I wouldn't fall over. He steadied me by grasping my arm. "Are you ok?" he asked with a smile. His smile seemed more natural than his frown.

"Yeah," I mumbled. "I'm fine."

"Well, that's great!" he said with a bright smile, one that I could have sworn stretched from ear to ear. "I'm Dagan Cheshire. People just call me "you cat" or "stupid vermin" but I like Dagan since Alyce gave me that name. I like Alyce a lot. She's really nice. She looks like you but she's taller and has bigger guns! You don't have guns do you?" I blushed, thinking he meant the other sort of guns but he looked around my arms and tried to lift my dress despite the obvious confusion I wore on my face. I smacked his cheek and held my dress down while my cheeks grew a hot scarlet color. The boy's eyes grew wide and filled with tears. "Alyce never hits me. She keeps her guns under her dress. She said it's better to hide them that way." He looked away and I suddenly felt like the worst person in the world.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you but I don't think you and I are thinking the same kind of guns. What—"

"She has guns! What else would they be? They are black and have her small signature rose on it. She said roses are the best sort of flower because they can be pretty but are very careful with who can have them." I nodded. That made no sense and yet, I understood what he meant. Everything was topsy turvy in that place.

"Well, I'm afraid I—"

"So what's your name?" he asked as he disappeared. I blinked and looked around. Where in the world did he go? He looked down at me and I jumped. He was on my head!

"How did you get on my head?" I shouted as I tried to get him off. He laughed and stood in front of me again.

"I floated there of course! How else do you get around?" he asked with a giggle. "Cheshire style is the only way to fly!" he exclaimed. I stared at him in disbelief. Well, I really couldn't say that surprised me since I had talked to a bunny with an eye patch and a boy who looked like a bunny, and had been chased by flowers, made friends with a flower and met a man who called himself a caterpillar. Meeting a boy with cat ears, a tail, and can float around shouldn't be on the list of things that surprise me anymore. Yet it did! It really did.

"Uh..." I was lost. Really, really lost. "I think I should go." I said as I started passed him. He laughed and before I knew it, he was bouncing on a tree branch just a little ways in front of me.

"Why? Do you not like me?" he asked as he hung upside down. "I like you. Though, I'd like you more if I knew your name." He said as he began to descend downward with the help of his tail. "So, what is it?" He dropped down and began walking on his hands. He walked this way and that, blocking my way as I tried to get around him.

"It was lovely to meet you but—"

"I can do magic if you want!"

"I think I should go. I'm in a bit of a hurry—" He lifted his arm before his hand disconnected itself from it and waved at me. I started screaming again and backing up until I fell over. He gasped and ran over to me.

"Oh no! Are you alright?" he asked. I tried to get away from him.

"G-go away!" I shouted. "Please I've had enough of magic and crazy today!"

"I-I-I..." He paused and stopped talking for a little while. I looked up and found him juggling his head and his arm and foot. I screamed again and started to run. He grabbed my arm and I spun back around. "I'm really sorry! I'm just trying to make you smile." He said softly. I looked up at him.

"News Flash: juggling your body parts doesn't make a girl smile!"

"Well you looked frightened so I thought I'd make you smile." He mumbled. I swallowed the bad feeling in my stomach and sighed. "I just want to make you happy." He said softly. I sighed and licked my lips in search for an answer.

"Maybe you can just...put your head back on?" I asked softly. He looked at me from his hand and smiled half-heartedly. He placed his head back on his neck and offered me a smile. He seemed so innocent even in such a dark place. "That's better. I like you with all your body parts in the right place," I said as I moved away from him. I looked up at the trees. The trees didn't seem to like Dagan Cheshire. They were lower now, their dark red leaves stretched towards him, as if hoping to pull him back away from me to devour him.

"Are you noticing the trees too?" His voice was low. I looked up at him and nodded a little. He offered me a darker sort of smile and held his hand out to me. "I think it's time we find Alyce."

"I'm right here." I said as I took his hand. He was much taller than I was. He acted so much younger than me and he even looked too young to be as tall as he was.

"No no," he said with a laugh. "Alyce, with a 'y' silly." He rolled his eyes while he smiled down at me. Those purple eyes didn't stay so carefree for long. They were instantly changed to suspecting ones, ones that said that he had no intention of joking around. "Your name is Alice then? Without a 'y'?" I nodded a little and he kissed the top of my hand.

"Pleasure to meet you," I stammered as I blushed.

"The pleasure is mine. You are much nicer than my Alyce." He complimented.

"Where is she?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe she's with one of her friends." He said as he started to walk. I followed after him quickly. I kept close to the eccentric boy and squeezed his hand tightly each time a red leaf almost touched my arm. I didn't know why, but Dagan Cheshire made me feel better. His held my hand just as tightly, reassuring me and maybe even himself.

"We're going to be ok, right?" I asked Dagan Cheshire. He nodded with a small smile.

"Of course. Nothing in this place could hurt you." He said. That I already knew was a lie. I was going to be fed to a species of flowers by another species of flower. That was danger. It was peril. It was something that could hurt me. I had this uncanny feeling that I was going to get mixed up in a war that I wanted no part of. That was danger. That could hurt me. With him, though, I felt better. Like I had with Leo. I felt like all that was far away. I walked with Dagan until we found a small road. He let out a small breath, but it held more than he thought it did. He was just as scared as I was. His shoulders, however, didn't release. They were still tense.

"Are you scared?" I asked him softly. He looked at me and smiled a wide, crescent moon grin that was anything but happy. He appeared older then. He appeared to be wise and intelligent and handsome. He looked like a different person. He looked like someone from a dream with white eyes and a harsher face.

"I'm always scared, Miss Alice." he said. "I am a creature that could easily be eaten by anything in this forest. That doesn't mean I can't be brave for a lady, though." I blushed again while his handsome, debonair smile made my stomach flutter. He was sweet...even if he was able to take his head off. There was a soft whistling and the sound of quacks coming from a little ways ahead. I clung to him tighter. Dagan smiled. "We should be safe. The umbrella birds are much nicer than anything in this forest." Just then, a family of large ducks with umbrellas for heads walked by us in a neat little row. Dagan Cheshire smiled at the tallest one, waving a little. "Hello," he said as he wiggled the ears on his head. I smiled and reached up to touch one of them gently. Much like real cat ears, they were soft and fun to touch. He let out a soft purr and rubbed his ear against my hand. I smiled and he hugged me tightly, a louder purr erupting from him.

"Dagan Cheshire?" I asked softly. He was bent at the waist, his head under my chin, his arms pulling to two of us together.

"You can just call me Dagan," he said as he rubbed his head under my chin. He purred louder and I pet his head hesitantly. I suppose there was nothing wrong. He was just a child inside, even if he wasn't on the outside.

"You have an earring," I said playing with the thing in his left ear. It made the petting his ears a little funnier. I played with the hoop a little, which made him purr more. He was just like a cat. His long purple tail wagged around in the air and it was really sort of cute. He nodded and rubbed his cheek against mine a little.

"Weren't we going somewhere?" He pouted and nodded a little, his ears tickling my cheek while he moved away from me.

"Right," he mumbled. "We're going to get out of the forest!" He took my hand in his. He smiled—he always seemed to be smiling—and pulled me along after long last. He and I broke out of the forest to find a solid pink path. Dagan smiled and started to skip along. I laughed and followed after him.

"Cheshire!" I heard a voice snap. I looked around but Dagan paused expectantly. The Rabbit came along, his little stubby legs pushing him forward. The White moved at a slower pace behind him, leisurely with his hands in his pockets inspecting the robbed robins. "What are you doing with this?" he shouted as he pointed to me.

"I have a name!" I called to the small stuffed animal.

"He knows," the White said. "He's just being rude."

"Oh excuse me!" The Rabbit said with a growl. I picked up the doll and stared down at him…it…

"Did you have something to say to him?" I asked, forcing him to look at Dagan.

"Yes!" he shouted. "Cheshire, you're supposed to be with the Dodo!" Dagan gasped.

"The Dodo? I love it there! It's so colorful!" The cat-boy disappeared while clapping his hands, the only thing staying around was his wide watermelon grin and the echo of his laughter. However, that soon faded as well and I sighed.

"The Cheshire will return to you soon, Alice." The White said kindly.

"Did you keep your clock handy?" The Rabbit asked. I nodded and reached to pull the dirty watch from my pocket. The White reached across me to pull it out of my pocket.

"Awe, Miss Alice, you should keep it clean. I worked so hard on it." The White said as used his sleeve to rub it clean. "You need to take care of your things, you know." He told me. I looked at him and he smiled. He moved close to me before dangling the open watch in front of me. The minute hand was on the four now. "Such a long time you've wasted here." He whispered to me. I moved away, a blush on my cheeks, and stared down at The Rabbit.

"Come, come, give it here." He demanded as he jumped a little, trying to get higher in the air. I grinned but handed him the watch. "You tall people..." He muttered as he inspected the watch. "Yes, you've been wasting your time!" I sighed.

"I don't understand, what are you talking about? It doesn't move like a normal clock, what is going on with it? Is it broken?"

"I made it," The White replied. "So it couldn't be broken." He smiled happily. "Perhaps you're asking the wrong questions."

"Which ones should I be asking?"

"I don't think that's one of them."

"What's this war all about?" I asked suddenly, making them both frown.

"Who told you about it?" The Rabbit demanded.

"People I've met."

"The war is for later times," The White said.

"Looks like I found a correct question to ask."

"But the wrong people to ask it to," The White murmured. "Do you hear that, Miss Alice?" he asked me as he brushed my hair over my shoulder. I tilted my head, mirroring his actions when something howled in the forest around us. I jumped considerably but when I looked to the White for answers, he and the Rabbit were halfway down a path.

"Wait for me!" I called. They didn't, of course. Once again, I was lost. "You know," I grumbled to myself as I put my hands on my hips. "I think I'll rip off those chubby little arms of his and then I'll pull out all the stuffing. Maybe make him loose his other eye. The little stupid ball of fluff."

"Damn, I wasn't even that angry at them when they made me lose my way the first time." I heard a feminine voice call down to me. I paused. Knowing this place, the woman would pop out of nowhere and I needed to be ready. I looked around the dark forest until I found a pair of brown eyes inches from my own. "Boo." I jumped and fell back screaming. Her laughter echoed through the darkness.


	5. Mirror Mirror on the Wall

I stared up at the girl, who was brushing her blond hair over her shoulder while standing erect in front of me. She had just come out of the tree, swung over the branch in fact. The girl had a top hat on, a white one, which matched her white vest, top coat and skirt. Around her neck was a bright red ascot that accentuated the dress very well. The hems of her shirt and skirt were a bright red that matched the reddish underskirt of her dress. I liked the outfit a lot, especially the tall white boots that accompanied it. She looked at me, her matching brown eyes looking over me. I was laying on the ground, of course, because she scared me half to death. She grinned and held out a white-glove covered hand. She certainly wore a lot of white.

"A little jumpy, huh?" she asked me with a grin. I looked away from her hand and stood on my own, brushing off the dirt. "Didn't mean to scare you. Say, you've got my face, girlie." The woman in white definitely did look like me. She had the same oval face, the same high cheek bones, the same small button nose and the same full, pink lips. It was almost like looking to a mirror. If that mirror decided to age you ten years.

"My name is Alice, thank you very much. Not girlie." She raised her hands in mock surrender and fought back a laugh.

"Well then Alice, you've got my name too." I paused at the coincidence and slowly nodded. I suppose that wasn't entirely normal. Then again, I was slowly becoming accustomed to the unusual. I brushed the dirt off of my dress once more. Dirt was caked onto it and holes had begun to form along the hemline. I would certainly hear it from my mother when I got home. If actually made it home, that is. "My name is Alice, with a 'y'. Pardon the white, I was at a meeting. The others don't like when I show off my loyalties." She told me, holding out her hand. As I shook her hand, I told her of Dagan Cheshire and how he had mentioned her and how they were on their way to find her when he got distracted. She grinned and put one hand delicate, glove covered hand on her hip, the other moving her hair from her face once again. "Cheshire doesn't know when to shut up sometimes. He is adorable, though." She mused.

"He is. He has a cute purr." I concurred while blushing. She laughed. I noticed how her whole essence seemed dangerous and deadly but when she laughed or smiled, she seemed harmless.

"That I know, sweetie. But he's a little young for me. He's right around your age I think." She told me with a grin and a wink. I blushed more and when I opened my mouth to tell her I had no interest in any boy, let alone one who chose to make this place their home, her hand was in my pocket grabbing my watch. "What's this?" she asked. Why was everyone so interested in my watch? "Oh," she murmured as she inspected it carefully. "Tisk tisk Alice, you're wasting so much time!"

"What do you know about this?" I asked her, pointing to the watch.

"I'm not really sure." She shrugged before placing the watch back in my pocket.

"Well lot of good you are," I mumbled, patting my pocket gently to ensure it was still safe.

"Well I have been here a long time," she said sternly. "And, just so you know, my watch is stuck at seven." She said as she pulled out her own matching watch from around her neck. I turned my head in confusion and informed her quiet gently that her watch in fact read eight. She frowned and inspected it as well. She tapped the glass face gently before shrugging. "That it does. Interesting."

"So you know nothing about this watch?"

"I have no idea." She said shrugging. "The White and The Rabbit are in charge of that sort of thing. That is their duty and theirs alone. No matter how incompetent they may be. " She said, a tone in her voice saying she was a little bitter. "But," she said grinning. "I think I know some people who could help us crack the secret." She smiled darkly and I nodded, unsure of what else to do.

"Who might that be?"

"There are three whos actually. Do you like tea, Alice?" she asked as she took my hand in hers. Her gloves were warm and soft. She was dressed so elegantly and had my outfit had not been through the mud and the muck, I would look as nice as her and perhaps even suitable for such occasion.

"You know," I mumbled. "Maybe I shouldn't go."

"Why?" she asked. "Do you not like tea? They have cakes if you don't." I shook my head as if that would convey what I was trying to say.

"It's not that. I like tea, I just..." I bit my lip.

"What? If you like tea, and you trust me, you should be fine." I sighed.

"Sure." I gave in and kept walking. She frowned and stopped, her hands on her slender hips.

"What is it?"

"You're in a pretty dress and I'm in a dress that has been through Hell and High Water."

"Is that it?" She started to laugh. "Never you mind that! I'll get you some clothes. Wait here." She said as she jumped away and before I knew it, I was alone again. I sighed and sat down, taking off my boots. They hurt my feet. I took off my stockings as well. They were damp. I tried to wipe them dry with my still dirty dress. Maybe that's why I hated bodies of water. There was just so much water.

"I got you a pink dress but I like you'll like this blue one." I looked up at the Alyce who was dropping out of a tree. I wondered silently what in the world she had going on in those trees. And I wondered how she got so good at climbing and moving around those trees.

"Uh" was all I could manage to say. She smiled and handed me the blue dress. The fabric was soft and elegant, almost too elegant for a place like this. The dress itself was a deep, rich, Autumn sky blue. Black embroidered roses snaked their way along the hem up through to the waist line. The pink one was of made of similar fabric. The top layer of the dress was made of fine black silk that shrouded the pink cloth, turning it a deep red. This one was beautiful as well but I much preferred the blue. She smiled before turning around to give me privacy.

"Hurry up now. We have to get to this tea party." I nodded and looked around before slipping my wet dress up and off and replacing it with the other. It was warm and dry and fit just right.

"How did you get my size, Alyce?" I asked. She ignored my question and hummed to herself a tune I did not recognize. "Thank you, Alyce." I added as I flattened out the bottom of the dress. She smirked as she turned back around and looked me over.

"No problem, kiddo. You look great." I smiled and followed after her while she led me towards somewhere new. I watched as she sky turned an odd sort of pink color, from its original green. I watched as the trees sort of shrunk away from us while Alyce walked with me. Were they afraid of her? Was there something about her that said she was dangerous? Then again, everything about her said that. I bit my lip.

"So who are these three someone's?" I asked her.

"You'll see." The mystery that surrounded her was intense and immense and I couldn't help but be drawn into it.

"Why are we going to a tea party?"

"Well, that's our favorite kind of party here." I nodded. Of course it was.

"Yes but why?"

"Do you know what they said about curiosity and the cat?"

"Yes, it killed it." She turned to me.

"That's a little inappropriate, don't you think? That poor cat."

"That's what they say though. That's the saying."

"Is it really? Interesting. I'll have to tell the Queen that one."

"Why did you ask me—"

"How do you like it so far?" she asked.

"It's scary! I was thrown to dandelions."

"Ah, the daises. They aren't the best of things to piss off but they certainly aren't te worst."

"Yes I fear I will be seeing one soon."

"Have you done something to piss one off?" she asked.

"No but that seems to be the luck I'm having today." She laughed then, another loud and happy laugh.

"Luck doesn't have any place here, young one. You make your own luck."

"I'll need a new recipe then." She forced her grin back but was amused none the less.

"A firecracker, you are," she mused as she pushed back a tree branch that looked oddly familiar. The whole forest looked familiar. The shades of the trees playing in the unnatural light.

"Is the sky always like that?" I asked.

"No," she said. "We're having a story. The rain clouds bring that color."

"I don't see any clouds."

"Yes but you're not really looking are you? Not everything is as simple as it seems."

"Kind of like you?" I asked.

"Like me?"

"You look dangerous and serious but you like to help and smile and show people something no one else can see, isn't that right?" She shrugged.

"It pays the rent."

"Do you like your job, Alyce?" she nodded.

"It's all I live for." I nodded and looked around. We were surrounded by tall, shadowed grass hedges that stretched to the sky. Every so often there would be a door we'd have to get passed or something we had to jump over.

"Alyce," I asked after long moments of silence, "what was it like when you first came here?" I asked. She turned her head as if to ponder the thought.

"Peaceful," she said after a moment. "There was a lot less to deal with. Certainly a rabble rouser or two but nothing we couldn't handle. The White was younger. He grew into a handsome young man." She said laughing. "When I got here, I wore a similar dress to yours." She said indicating behind her. "That old scrap of a thing I mean." I frowned. I liked my old dress, though it had grown to be hideous. "Uh," she said, tapping her finger to her chin. "The Cheshire was much different than he is now, believe me. If the Queen and I hadn't bound his magic—"

"Magic? He can do magic?"

"He didn't pull of a limb for you?" she asked in surprise.

"Ah, he removed his head."

"And you think that's normal?"

"I've run into a lot today, madam, and a creature such as him pulling his head off isn't far from being odd." She laughed and agreed and pushed through a small waist high white fence. "Where did that come from?" Alyce glanced back and looked at the gate before shrugging, saying she didn't know.

"The queen was happier," she added. "Then the troubles came." I licked my lips and lowered my eyes.

"Do…do you have a direct influence in the war?" I asked timidly. It appeared that no one really liked to talk about the war but did so anyway. She looked at me and nodded.

"I am the Queen's right hand woman. I do all I can to protect her kingdom."

"Are you ever afraid you'll have to go to war?" I asked. She shook her head.

"I am bound to this place, even if my queen is not."

"What does—" I felt the world drop under me and suddenly, I was pulled into the air.

"Hey!" Alyce shouted after me.

"Relax, Alyce." A male voice said.

"We're not going to hurt her." A voice so similar to the first it was almost the same. I couldn't see what was happening; all I saw was the flash of green leaves moving by me.

"Contrarily wise, if we were going to hurt her, we wouldn't be near you so you could hurt us for hurting her if we did hurt her."

"That's self-preservation," the other agreed with a wide smile in his voice.

"Give her back." Alyce demanded as she stood on a tree branch. From where I was hanging upside down, she looked like she had done it a thousand times. She looked like standing on top of that branch was nothing more than child's play.

"Help!" I pleaded with my arms and legs waving.

"Alyce, we're just going to play with her a bit." The two voices said as one.

"Oh no you will not," she snapped. "You're going to give her back." I could hear Alyce's voice hardening. "You have to the count of ten." She said as she pulled a gun from under the long dress she wore.

"Alyce!" I shouted. "Don't shoot them!"

"Yeah!" the voices agreed. "Don't shoot us!" I looked up at them.

"Quiet, you kidnapping perverts."

"Perverts!" The two voices said as they dropped me. Once again, I was losing to gravity once again. Gravity decided to kick my butt once more. Alyce was fast, though. Like a skilled warrior that I knew she probably was, she dropped down after me. Branches came up to meet me, leaves falling around me and leaving scratches on my arms. I let out a scream. I was pulled by the waist and the wind was knocked out of my lungs. She held me tight to her side and I hugged her. She groaned as she pulled me up to place me on a branch.

"That might have been bad." She said smiling, though I could hear her straining to keep me up. "Good thing you're not a very heavy woman or we might have been in a lot of trouble." I laughed a little, breathing heavily as I tried to calm my heart rate.

"We are having fun!" I heard from in front of us. Alyce and I looked back to find the boys, both with the same spiky red hair and brown eyes that twinkled in the light. Mischief danced with their gleaming specks. On their heads were different hats to discern them from each other. Both red of course, but one had Tweedle Dee and the other had Tweedle Dum written in beautiful, black stitching.

"If we weren't having fun, we wouldn't be happy,"

"And logically, it would be best to keep us happy."

"Being happy is always happy!"

"Who are those guys?" I asked Alyce quietly as she settled us onto a firm and sturdy branch.

"Trust me," she grumbled as she glanced back up at them, "they are annoying as all Hell and you don't want to know."

"I resent that." The one with the Tweedle Dee said.

"As do I!" Tweedle Dum chimed in.

"Resent it all you want," Alyce said standing and aiming her gun, "but I should shoot you two for taking Alice from me."

"Alice? Isn't that your name?" they asked her.

"My name is spelled with an "I"." I clarified as I peeked out behind her skirt.

"Ohhhh!" The two said smiling. "Nice to meet you Alice-with-an-I."

"Are you less scary then Alyce-with-a-Y?" Tweedle Dee asked.

"She sure is." Alyce said. "She's not the one with the gun, is she?" They shook their heads and swallowed. "That's right."

"Are you going to crumble a bit of toast on some jam?" asked one.

"Throw some honey in a twinkling dish?" I looked at Alyce.

"What are they saying?" I asked.

"Are you going to the Hatter's?" they asked us laughing.

"We were on our way there." Alyce said as she placed the gun in its holster.

"We'll walk with you then!" They announced before jumping over to us and pulling me down to the ground. "Come on Alice!" They said together as we started to walk. I looked back at Alyce, who was shaking her head.

"Great." She muttered.

"Alyce! Can we tell a story?"

"No." Alyce snarled.

"Please please please!" I looked at them and felt bad that they couldn't tell a story.

"I said no." They grinned and pulled me back to stand with them before we stopped. I stared at Alyce and then at them.

"What—" They placed their fingers on their lips and grinned a sinister grin that made my skin crawl.

"There's a story that you might want to hear."


	6. Double the Trouble

Chapter 6

Double The Trouble

_"Hey brother, it was a innocent time/We used to laugh til we cry/We're still boys on the inside"_

_From Anberlin's Young Life_

"Hey!" Alyce shouted as she jumped up after me. She moved through the trees, the leaves rustling slightly. She never once stopped, and neither did they. My voice was wearing thin from screaming too much. They were dragging me through the trees and my limbs were being smacked on everything.

"Please be careful with me?" I asked him, trying to avoid more tree branches. Being hauled up to through tall trees without care is a tough thing to deal with.

"Relax Alyce. We're not going to hurt her," the voices said with a laugh.

"Yeah, we're only going to look."

"Never touching, it's not allowed."

"Guys, give her back." Alyce demanded as she stood on a tree branch. She moved like a monkey through the trees and I was very scared of what the hell she had been doing for the passed fifteen years here. I was hanging upside down from the tree opposite her, desperately trying to get myself back up. I didn't want to fall from the tree, I didn't want to go with the two boys and I didn't want to go anywhere but home. Or at least somewhere I can get help to go home.

"Someone want to help me back upright?" I pleaded, trying to

"Alyce, we're just going to play with her a bit." The two voices said as one as they moved again and again from tree to tree. Alyce followed after us, her attention focused on us. She even jumped faster to land in front of us. She took out a gun from under her dress and held it out to the two boys.

"You're going to let her go. You have to the count of ten." Ok not cool... Uh, definitely going to have to get her to stop.

"Alyce!" I shouted as I tried to wave my hands around. "Don't shoot them!"

"Yeah!" The voices agreed. "Don't shoot us!" I looked up and found that both boys had spiky red hair and dangerous red eyes. On their heads were different hats; both red of course, but one had Tweedle Dee and the other had Tweedle Dum. What an odd pair. Scary…but…odd.

"Yeah, don't shoot them. You should put the gun down."

"I like this one." The two boys said nodding.

"Quiet you kidnapping perverts."

"Perverts!" The two voices shouted as they dropped me to put their hands on their hips. I started to fall to the earth, breaking through branches and leaves caught in my hair and through my arms. Alyce followed after me, of course not getting hurt like I was, and roughly, her hand gripped my arm before hauling me up to branch.

"That might have been bad." She said smiling. I nodded and tried not to pee myself or faint. Yeah bad didn't even begin to touch it. Falling down to my death was definitely worse than bad. It was _much_ worse than bad. Like…colossal bad. You get my point though.

"We are not perverts!" I heard from in front of us. Alyce and I looked back and Alyce stood in front of me. She grabbed my shoulder and gripped it tight while cocking her gun. It was, indeed, black and had a long rose along the base of it. She hadn't aimed it but she definitely was going to.

"Those are those people you said could help?" I asked softly, tugging on her dress.

"No, they're worse. They're annoying as hell and I'd rather I never met them. They don't belong anywhere."

"I resent that." Tweedle Dee said.

"As do I!" Tweedle Dum chimed in.

"Resent it all you want," Alyce said aiming her gun. "But I should fill you full of lead for taking Alice from me."

"Alice?" They asked as they moved around us. "Isn't that your name?" They said as they turned around and around.

"My name is spelled with an "I"." I told them as I looked around Alyce's dress.

"Ohhhh!" The two said smiling at us. "Nice to meet you Alice!" I curtsied and smiled back just so slightly.

"Are you less scary then Alyce?" Tweedle Dee asked.

"She sure is." Alyce said. "She's not the one with the gun is she?" They shook their heads and swallowed.

"Are you going to the Hatter's?" They asked us.

"We were on our way there." Alyce said as she placed the gun in it's holster.

"We'll walk with you then!" They announced before jumping over to us and pulling me down to the ground. "Come on Alice!" They said together as we started to walk. I looked back at Alyce, who was shaking her head.

"Great." She muttered.

"Alice, why is that other one so mean to us?" Tweedle Dee asked placing his head on my shoulder.

"Yeah!" Tweedle Dum agreed.

"She's not that mean, I'm sure she's just not used to loud and...energetic people."

"More like loud and obnoxious."

"Alyce." I snapped at her. She pouted and walked behind us, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Why are you so nice to them?" She asked me.

"Because, everyone should be nice." I told her. She sighed.

"You can't always be nice to people." Alyce said softly.

"You can't but just because you don't know when people will be nice to you doesn't stop me." I told her. She sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Whatever Alice." I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"You know, Alice," Tweedle Dee said.

"There used to be a girl like you here before!" Tweedle Dee answered.

"She had long blond hair and big pretty brown eyes!" The first twin said. And in suit, his brother replied once more.

"She wore a big blue dress with frillies all around and a blue hair ribbon. You look a lot like her actually." Dee responded.

"Alice looks different!" Alyce snapped. I looked at her and frowned. Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum giggled.

"Alice, did you know that when Alyce came here, she was so cute? She had really long blond hair that was all curly and it was tied with a big dark blue ribbon?" Dee asked me.

"Her dress was like yours but it had white embroidery on it and there were flowers and her skirt had these weird layer things!" Dum added. I looked back at Alyce, who was fighting with herself over killing the two.

"She was so small!" The two said jumping up and down.

"So cute!" Alyce frowned and I swore I saw steam coming from her head. I smiled and looked at the twins.

"Really?" They nodded.

"But then the Hearts got her." Dee and Dum said together.

"The Hearts?" I asked softly before Alyce frowned and put her hands on their shoulders.

"Let's keep Alice away from my past for the time being." The two pouted, as did I. I wouldn't be here very long so I wanted to learn as much as I could. Especially about Alyce. She seemed to be someone like me. Maybe because she is me?

"But I want to know." I told her. She stared at me, her brown eyes sharp.

"Not now." She said to me before taking the lead.

"Alyce! Can we tell a story?"

"No." Alyce snarled.

"Please please please!" I looked at them and felt bad that they couldn't tell a story.

"I said no." They grinned and pulled me back to stand with them before we stopped. I stared at Alyce and then at them.

"What-" They placed their fingers on their lips and grinned.

"There's a story that you might want to hear."

"It's about a fox."

"There's always a fox," I muttered softly.

"Of course. There's always a fox." Alyce disappeared and the twins pulled me forward, their hands tight on my wrists. The pulled me along but this time, they let me walk on my own.

"There once was a little rabbit walking through a field," said Dee. As we walked, so did a small bunny. The bunny walked along with each step we took.

"And she was hoping along when she fell into a hole." Like the twins were deciding the poor bunny's fate, the bunny fell into a hole.

"Oh no!" I shouted as I started towards the rabbit. Only, when I moved towards it, it moved away.

"Just, follow us, Alice with an I. We'll get you to tea just as quickly as Alyce would," Tweedle Dee said.

"Just listen to the story." Tweedle Dum cleared his throat and smiled at me. "The hole was too deep for the bunny to jump out. The bunny tried to hop and hop away but it couldn't. It was too small." A lean brown fox strolled up to the hole and looked down.

"So a fox came and said, 'Little bunny, I'll make you a deal. I'll go out and get you help before the fall of the sun and when I come back, you must become my friend and bring me good luck.' The bunny was desperate to get out so she hastily agreed."

"But," said Tweedle Dum. The world grew dark and I swallowed hard. A "hoot" rang through the air and I looked around feverishly. "The night fell quickly onto the land and a disturbing _hoot_ came from the trees around the rabbit. 'Trusting a fox,' said a hungry owl. 'Is a terrible decision to make.' Now the bunny was terrified!" Tweedle Dee and Dum gripped my arms tightly and I stared ahead.

"She could have easily been eaten by either of the animals. 'Let me get you out,' said the owl. 'A fox couldn't help you even if he wanted to.' The bunny was more afraid of the owl than the fox,"

"But she wanted to get home!" Interjected Tweedle Dum. "So she eagerly accepted the owl's proposition." Slowly, an owl dropped into the hole and I watched as he lifted her out of it. "The owl dropped down and grabbed the rabbit gently before pulling it out of the hole. Instead of putting her down, though, the owl started to fly away." I watched as the owl's mighty wings flapped and suddenly, the fox and other creatures came running through the trees to help.

"The trees rustled while the owl moved upward and suddenly, 'Rabbit!' the fox shouted. 'I've brought help!' The bunny cried for help and the animals and fox were on the owl's tail. 'We'll get you, rabbit!' said the Fox. 'I'm sorry!' cried the bunny. 'I accepted his help instead of waiting for you!'"

"The fox stopped and stared at her. 'You didn't think I would come?' he asked her. 'I became impatient!' cried the bunny once more." Dee and I stared at Dum, who spoke. "The fox shook his head. 'You should have faith in others,' said the fox."

"'I had faith in the owl,' said the bunny as she looked up. 'You shouldn't have doubted me, bunny. Never doubt someone who offers you help in the first place. What you get is what you deserve.' The fox walked away, followed by the animals and the owl carried the bunny away to be eaten." I stared at them and then watched as the world went back to normal.

"The bunny died?" I asked softly. They nodded.

"This is a lesson, Alice," said Tweedle Dee.

"Trust people who offer you help and have faith in them."

"You could be eaten by an owl."

"I could eat you two." Alyce's growl made me jump. We were standing with her at a large white fence.

"When did we get-"

"Where the hell have you three been? I've been worried sick!" I sighed.

"I'm sorry Alice. We got lost." I said as I looked at the two.

"Lost," replied the two with smiles. Alyce put her hands on her hips before turning to the fence that stood in our way. I walked over to her, standing behind her, and noticed that, on the handle, a small hat was turned upside down.

"Jabberwocky." She said, thus making the hat turn right side up and the gates opened on their own. Alyce went in without prior invitation, as did Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. They turned to me and held out their hands.

"Follow us," they said together. "Let's get some tea!"


	7. Sky of Blue and Tea for Two

Chapter 7  
The Sky of Blue and Tea for Two

"_Kurutto mawatte ikkaiten, Kurutto mawatte ikkaiten, Kurutto mawatte ikkaiten de, Hikkurikaette wahaha [Spin once around, Spin once around, Spin once around and, Do it again! Wahaha]_"

_From Kigurumi's Kurutto-Mawatte-Ikkaiten_

I followed after the two of them, not sure what else to do. I mean, I couldn't very well get to the queen on my own now could I? When I walked passed the doors, I noticed tall plants that were shaped in hearts, spades, diamonds and clubs. Though, as cool as that would have looked, there were shattered plates littered on top of, inside of , and around the bottom of them. The grass was once again an odd color-a blue shade and with a fuzzy look to it. The grass under my feet was cluttered with the remains of pots and cups as well as clothes, and it looked like some sort of machinery. I'm not sure what it was, but I didn't want to further break it, so I just left it. I left everything as it was and tried to find my way around the scary plants.

"Nani?" I heard as I continued to walk through the broken mess.

"Gah! Shut up!" I heard a man yell. He sounded very angry.

"Doshite!" The voice called again.

"I swear I'll hit you March! I swear it!" I heard the man shout once more. Alyce cleared her throat as I got to them. Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum looked at each other and then at me.

"Mad Hatter, you have guests." Alyce said rather sternly, making the man turn around. He had an eyebath over his left eye and his other silver eye landed on Alyce. Alyce and the man, Mad Hatter which she called him, held gazes before he looked at me.

"Who is that?" He asked. I noticed two silver rings under his bottom lip and his pale skin made them shine. His blond hair fell in front of his face but it made him look attractive, in that psycho sort of way. His top hat had many cards in it. An ace, a king of hearts, a small card, maybe a six, and a black card way to the side. They were all stuffed into a red bow that was around the hat. "She's got your face." He pointed out. "Only…" He walked over to Alyce and inspected her while inspecting me. "You're much cuter Alyce." He said before placing his lips against hers. Tweedle Dee, Dum, the little girl in the corner with a torn apart bunny doll, and myself were all speechless. That is, until Alyce held a gun to his throat. Then we were all terrified.

"You think you're so great, Hatter," she growled out. He smiled darkly at her. His eyes sparking and his hand snaking around her waist.

"Do it," he whispered, his hand, which was covered with a white glove, pushing her finger on the trigger. "You won't." Alyce sneered and looked at me, moving the gun from his chin.

"Alice, this is the Mad Hatter." The man tipped his hat and grinned wickedly at me, removing himself from Alyce as if it were a game and he won.

"Pleased to meet another Alice." He announced. I nodded and smiled politely while Alyce and the Hatter stared at me. I wondered what happened to his eye….Alyce cleared her throat.

"Hatter, Alice is curious about her watch." The man frowned before looking at her then at me.

"Give me your watch." He ordered. I nodded and handed him the watch. "Hm," he said to himself. I stared at him, as did the others. "Name who you've met."

"Uh….The White and the Rabbit, Leo, Mr. Caterpillar, Dagan Cheshire, Alyce, the Tweedles, and you." The Hatter nodded.

"Well, your watch says seven." He told me while walking over to the table full of the destroyed cups and plates. There was so much tea it spilled over the table but it never fell out of the half cups or anything. He looked at me. "Any guesses as to why it says seven?" Who cares? Why would anyone care about that? I just wanted to know why it moved. He placed my watch on the table, in tea, actually, and picked up a balloon and a broken shard of the a plate.

"Hey my watch!" I called as I ran to the table. He let out a dark laugh before pushing me against the table so I was bent over, his waist pressed against my rear. My hands and cheek were held down on the sharp edges of the plates and stuff since his body kept me down. My face was on fire and my eyes were squeezed shut. What would he do to me? He yanked me back, his hand on my neck so my head was looking up at him.

"Tea?" He whispered in my ear. What he held to my lips was not a cup but a balloon. It was cut in half but was much like a bowl.

"Oishii no hantai wa tabetakunai. Erai hito no hantai wa erasou no hito! Hantai nimo irorio arukeredo! Dai!-Dai!-Daikiraitte chotto suki na koto!" I heard a soft voice start to giggle. The Hatter and I looked over and saw a little girl, maybe five years old laying on the table, a doll in her hands. Tweedle Dee and Dum ran to her and started to dance.

"Kurutto mawatte ikkaiten! Kurutto mawatte ikkaiten! Kurutto mawatte ikkaiten de hikkurikatte wahaha!" They sang. I stared at them but the Hatter's lips were against my ear.

"Drink." He said to me. I stared at the balloon and when he was yanked away from me, I was pulled back too.

"Enough." Alyce snapped at him. I looked at her, feeling like she was my savior. She stared at him. "Moron! I told you to stop. She's just a little girl." The Hatter laughed and stared at her.

"All the better." He said, his eye narrowed. I shrunk into Alyce when his eye landed on him, his impure thoughts being all too clear.

"Sugoi!" We heard Tweedle Dee, Dum and the little girl shout before standing and dancing. I stared at them and watched as they danced around while their song sped up. I didn't notice her before but in the corner, staring down at a torn black stuffed rabbit, staring down at it. When I looked away from her, I found the Mad Hatter filling the balloon once more with tea.

"Why is it on seven?" Alyce demanded in a strong voice that stopped everyone, even the girl in the corner.

"Because," he said as he rose his eye to meet hers. "It's for each of the people someone like her meets here in Wonderland."

"But I met eleven." I said.

"The White and the Rabbit are one, Leo is two, Mr. Caterpillar is three, Cheshire is four, Alyce is five, the tweedles are six and I am seven." He listed off with a sigh.

"So...why do we need the watches?"

"People from your world, Little Alice, have tried to come in here. They think it's a game. They take what they wanted, killed because they were bored. To limit them, the queen gave them a watch upon entry so they knew they had to get out when they killed 12 people. Twelve is her limit but we, the people of Wonderland, just want to live. It's all your fault," He snapped at me. "For this stupid war."

"Me?" I asked as I put my bleeding hand on the blue dress Alyce gave me.

"So conceded!" he shouted at me. "Do you think one little girl could cause a whole nation to go to war?" He demanded from me. Our eyes met but I quickly looked away. I didn't want to look at him. "The Queen hates all who aren't from Wonderland." He clarified as he put his arms over his chest.

"Does that mean…Alyce?" I looked up at her but she stared ahead at the Hatter.

"I've been here for a long time, Alice, and I have done things I am not proud of. The Queen would not dare kick me out." She said.

"You're in a lot of danger, Little Alice," the Hatter said while sitting at the table, his feet cracking more cups. "When she finds out you're here…." A distant smile was on his lips.

"Hatter-senpai," a soft whisper said from the Hatter's left. I looked at her, as did Alyce and the Hatter. "A usagi kuchinisuru gachingachin." The Hatter ground his teeth.

"Speak English." He snapped at her.

"Why is she speaking Japanese?" I asked the Hatter.

"Because the rabbit told her."

"He's a hare!" The little girl with Dee and Dum said. That little girl had blond hair that reached to her back, though it was pulled in a pony tail and the rest of her hair got in front of her face. The girl in front of us, however, had a pair of dark black eyes, her face small and round. On her head was a hood with two long ears came from the to her elbows. She wore a strange white gown that reached the middle of her thighs while two different colored stripped socks reached to where the dress ended.

"Who are you?" I asked softly.

"That's the March Hare." The Hatter said. "A rather annoying little girl who listens to a hare." She shrugged and turned away.

"Well what did she say?" The Hare turned to us, but it was a high pitched voice with a small hiccup in the middle that answered.

"She said the-" she hiccuped, her red eyes closing "-That the Rabbit says 'tick'-" Another hiccup "-tock." I looked at Alyce then at the Hatter.

"Is that towards me?" I asked. The little girl with red eyes and round ears looked at me.

"Maybe!" She giggled.

"Is she drunk?" I asked. He nodded and shrugged.

"Tea does that to you, especially our tea." He said with a wink. The little girl jumped off the table onto the Hatter's lap.

"Ohayo!" she said as she cuddled with him. He sneered but pet her head.

"Hello." He said, making her smile. Her cheeks were pink, probably from the tea, and her smile was a bit lopsided. She looked at me, her eyes covered by the long strands in front of her face. The doll in her hands was a snowman. Why were there so many dolls? Dang. She looked up at the Hatter and smiled.

"You luff me?" I blushed and looked away.

"She's five." Alyce growled out. The Hatter shrugged and looked at her.

"You have a problem, _assassin_?" I stared at Alyce.

"You know I do, _hentai._" He growled and put the girl on the table before standing and staring at Alyce. She sneered and he bared his teeth. "Bring it." She snapped. He rose his hand to hit her, but I jumped in and pushed Alyce back.

"No! Don't fight!" I called. Alyce pushed me aside and frowned.

"The guy's a creep. Never even liked him anyways."

"Go home, traitor." Alyce tensed before running forward. The skirt she wore didn't stop her from jumping up and kicking the Hatter in the face. He fell his hands and knees and she kicked him in the stomach, causing him to flip over. She pulled her gun out from her leg and stared down at him.

"I'm not traitor." She snapped. "At least I chose a side. You're just hiding out." I was so confused! I ran to the Tweedles and they hugged me close, much like they did the Hare and the little girl.

"Chose a side!" he snorted. "Yeah, you pick the side that pays more."

"I chose the one that will keep me alive!" She called back, cocking her gun.

"What's going on?" I asked Tweedle. While Alyce and the Hatter spoke, Tweedle Dee stared at them.

"Alyce is a mercinary, though the queen has a pretty tight leash on her. She used to just kill people so she could keep living but now she does it for the queen." I stared at Alyce. She was so nice though...The Hatter pushed her foot off of him and kicked her other foot from under her. I jumped and started forward but Tweedle Dum took my shoulder.

"This is a fight for enemies and lovers only." I blinked. Lovers! I watched as the two beat each other mercilessly. Neither of them seemed to love each other. Neither of them seemed to do anything other than fight and fight. Alyce ended up being on top, her hair a mess and her dress covered in dirt. She stared down at him, her breath coming in short pants.

"I win, jerk wad." She said. He growled and looked away.

"Fine. This time." She stood and brushed herself off. She looked at me, rubbing the back of her hand against her bloody nose. She rubbed her side and her head, as if that washed away the pain, before coming over to me.

"Come here," she said as she pulled the bottom of her skirt up to rip some of the second layer off. "I'll wrap those hands." She said as she wrapped my bleeding hands. She smiled and pet my head. "All better."

"Alyce!" Tweedle Dee and Dum whined. "We want tea!" Alyce rolled her eyes.

"Then drink the tea." She snapped.

"Drink, dear friends." The Hatter said, his eyes staring at Alyce. "It's just tea after all." I stared at him and pulled on Alyce's sleeve.

"Why is the Hatter so mad?" She laughed and shook her head.

"He's always been that way Alice. Always." I nodded and watched as the man sat in his large, broken chair while the girls stood beside him.

"You talking about me again?"

"Yeah," she snapped. "You got something to say to me about it?" He laughed and stood, ready for round two. They seemed to be really into fighting. Alyce narrowed her eyes at him and just as she stepped forward. The Hatter grinned and started forward as well and just as he did, the Rabbit fell on my head.

"ALYCE!" He shouted. "Alyce! The White! He's in trouble!" Alyce and the Hatter looked his way before nodding.

"Go." The Hatter snapped as he grabbed his coat from the chair. The Rabbit pulled my hair.

"Run." I jumped and nodded, running towards the gates. The White was in trouble? Alyce and the Hatter quickly joined my running, the Rabbit leading our way with his short stubby hand. Maybe I shouldn't have planned to cut that thing off….


	8. The Reds and the Whites

Chapter 8

The Reds and The Whites  
_"Please give me the strength to change the future/Where I'm supposed to walk alone/I can fly very high/Just because of your smile"  
From Fiction Junction's Parallel Hearts_

"There! There!" The Rabbit said as the three of us stopped running. I leaned over, panting for air. I was grossly out of shape. Alyce stared and narrowed her eyes, as if searching for the situation the Rabbit was pointing out. I saw it right away. Four people against the White. The Hatter was looking around as if he were looking as well. Why couldn't they see it? "Save him!" The rabbit pointed his arm towards The White.

I couldn't stop my feet. I took off running, my eyes squeezed shut, hoping to help the boy who had helped me. I jumped on The White, praying he was alright. When I opened my eyes, his pale turquoise eyes stared up at me in shock. His hands were on my hips, my face just inches from his. Our noses were touching softly. I blushed and looked up at the people surrounding us. There were four women standing around him in a circle. They all had blond hair with two long white ears and a big white tail. They actually looked like him.

"Who are you?" One of the women demanded from me. I stared at her. She had long blond hair that reached her shoulders while two long strands fell over her shoulder in front of her black uniform suit. Her outfit matched the other threes; black coat, tie, grey shirt, short grey plaid skirt, black gloves, shoes, and tall grey socks. The only thing that separated them was their hair. To our left, one wore her hair in pig tails, the long strands down passed her chest. To our right, the girl had her hair cut to her human ears and layered so it looked fluffy. The last, who was behind us, wore her hair in a pony tail on the back of her head. All of them stared at me, one eye covered by an eye patch, the other a beady red eye.

"A-Alice." I said as I held the White close. "I'm not letting you hurt him." I said strongly, even though I was pretty sure I was going to pee myself. The White stared at me.

"Alice," he said softly, as if shocked I was helping him.

"You don't know what you're doing, _Alice_." The one to our left spat. Pig tails one. I gulped and nodded.

"That may be true but I don't care. The White is my friend. I'll protect him no matter what." The women narrowed their eyes on me and the one in front of me sneered.

"He is not worth protecting."

"How can you say that?" I demanded from her. The other three frowned deeper. "The White may be a bit eccentric but that never bothered me! He's a good person and helped me when I needed it! He's a good person."

"He's a traitor. He allowed you humans into our world. It's because of him that we are like this." The one to my right said, indicating to her eye. She had a sick grin on her face and I licked my lips to gain my nerves.

"I fail to see what-"

"Of course you would." The girl in front of me snapped. "You couldn't possibly understand. You're just a human." The White wrapped his arms around me, his hands moving to my back, and whispered something into my shoulder. I looked at him, unsure of what he said.

"Why are you thanking her?" The last of the group said. I looked at her, as did the other three girls. "You're still going to die." Her hand rose and snapped her black glove covered fingers. I gasped when I saw the two girls from the right and the left move towards us, the one from the left having a sword in her right hand and the one from the right had a sword in her left hand. I pulled the White close, holding his head close to my chest, as if that would help against swords.

When nothing happened to us, I looked up to see Alyce and the Hatter, staring at the two girls, Alyce holding the one from the left off with a long ribbon tied around the sword and the Hatter holding the one from the right off with the sword pierced through his hat. Neither seemed to be a really good weapon but they worked and held off the two attackers.

"Alyce. Hatter." The one from behind us said with a sneer.

"So _great_ to see you again." Alyce said wickedly while she tightened her hold on the ribbon.

"Same." The two girls said, their eyes watching her. The Hatter grinned, waiting for his opportunity to say something. I bet he didn't say anything because he knew Alyce had it covered.

"What brings you here?" The one from in front of us said. I looked at her.

"Tami, when have I ever needed a reason to visit my favorite Rabbit?" Alyce asked the girl. She bared her oddly sharp teeth.

"You sympathize with this traitor?" The one to the left asked.

"Please," Alyce said smiling. "I love your brother." B-B-brother! I looked down at the White, who buried his face in my shoulder.

"White?" I asked him softly. So softly, I was sure no one else heard me.

"Do not associate our name with his!" The Tami snapped at me, making me jump and the White tighten his arms around me.

"Tami." The girl at the very back said, her voice like a leash. "Samson is our brother, young human." She said, making me look down at the White.

"Your name is Samson?" I asked him in a whisper. He nodded, one eye looking at me. I smiled a little. "I like that name." He smiled a little but jumped when the three snapped his name.

"How dare you smile at a human!" Tami growled.

"Watch it," the Hatter said finally, his eye locking on hers. "That's my human you're talking to."

"Your human, Hatter?" The leader demanded.

"Indeed, Larissa. It's hard for me to get anything from any of our fair Wonderland ladies so I do enjoy the occasional dip in the _homo sapiens _pool." The girl frowned and shook her head.

"You've dabbled in that kiddy pool for a bit too long, Hatter." Larissa said, her gaze switching to Alyce, who sneered.

"I've been here long enough to be called a Wonderland woman." Alyce argued.

"You will never be one of us, human." The one fighting against Alyce said.

"Much to your displeasure Kari, I'm afraid I already am. Your queen made sure of that."

"Dare bad mouth the queen?" The one fighting Hatter asked.

"Reona, you know better then most of us, what is wrong with our queen." Alyce snapped without taking her attention off Kari.

"I'm sorry Alice." The White, no, Samson, said. "I'm sorry for bringing you here. For letting you in and for letting you see the horrible place Wonderland is." I stared at him and smiled a little.

"I'm glad you let me in." I whispered. "I like it here in Wonderland." The four rabbits frowned and the leader snapped her fingers again. I looked up to see the two attacking girls, Reona and Kari, and the one in front of me, Tami, move to stand at attention.

"You wont like it in Wonderland for much longer, little human." I held Samson close and stared at her.

"You can't change my mind. I like Wonderland." Larissa laughed, as did the other three.

"Will you say that when you see the Dodo? And if you somehow manage to live through him, will you say that when you meet our King and Queen? They will certainly dislike you, young human."

"She will make it and she will be able to get home to her own world, Larissa." Alyce said as she stared at her. "I'll make sure of it."

"Oh? And the queen will let her precious dog off her leash long enough to help the enemy?" Tami asked, a grin on her lips.

"I am no dog." Alyce growled out.

"Then why are you still working for our queen if you are so displeased with her?" Reona asked.

"Sisters," Samson said as he rose to his feet, picking me up bridal style. I blushed and stared at him, my arms around his neck. "I do believe you're picking on them far too much." The four narrowed their eyes.

"You have no right-"

"No." He said, his eyes turning red like theirs. "You have no right. These three have done nothing wrong. You need not harass them any longer. Your fight is with me." I stared at him, as did the others.

"Samson..."

"Thank you, Alice." He said, his normal eyes looking back at me. "You've given me courage and that is something that I have not had in many many years. I hope that someday, I can repay you for your kindness." He said before placing a soft kiss on my lips. I blushed, my eyes growing wide. He ran passed the girl behind us and when they started after us, Alyce and the Hatter followed. However, they were soon lost in the mix of trees. The four girls, on the other hand, were hot on our trail. "You see, Alice. I believe it's time I told you something about this world." He said, running as if he were just taking a quick stroll. "When I was born, I was born into a family of six. My older brother was named Ethan, then Larissa, Tami, Kari, Reona and then me. I am the baby, the youngest and the weakest in their eyes. The people here don't understand me. There are those who think me a traitor, like my family, and those who think me unwilling to work for the greater good, like our King and Queen." He told me. Who were these two people? They were all people ever talked about. "My family, you see, is a very important part of the army of the Queen. We were born and raised to protect our nation. We had yet to kill anyone for there was no need. No one needed anything from us. No rebellions, no nothing. We were mere toy soldiers in a box waiting to be played with." There was a sick laugh that rang through the forest.

"You cannot get away from us, Samson!" The four called together.

"Samson," I said as I clung to him, his arms tightening around me as well.

"You'll be fine, Alice." He assured, his left hand on my right thigh and his other hand gripping my arm gently, pulling me closer to safety. My head was placed on his shoulder and I could hear his heart beat. It was fast and erratic.

"Are you scared, Samson?" He nodded a little.

"They may be my family but they are a lot stronger than me and they out number me." I nodded and kissed his cheek gently, my cheeks still hot.

"I have faith in you, Samson." I whispered in his ear. He looked at me and smiled.

"I think with you, I can do anything." he whispered back before looking forward.

"Samson, what...what happened to your brother?" I asked. He frowned.

"Yes," I heard one of the girls say. "Tell her of how you killed our brother."

"Let your little human hate you like we do." I clung to Samson.

"I won't hate you, Samson, I promise." He skidded when Larissa dropped in front of us, trying to stop himself from running. He and I ended up landing on the ground, him on top of me.

"Samson, get up. You're embarrassing us again." Samson stared down at me and smiled a little.

"Alice," he whispered in my ear. "Our brother Ethan was doing a routine walk through. He often left us so do what he wanted, I'm not sure if that's good or not, but whatever he did, he usually did it because he wanted space. The place where you came in, the Null, didn't have someone like me or the Rabbit guarding it. It was just a door that let people in and out. The bottle you have was just sitting there, no one telling people how to use it."

"Stop speaking of him as if you are worthy!" Reona snapped as she kicked Samson's stomach, making him roll over. Samson laid on the ground by my side and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Little human," Kari said as she put her foot on Samson's stomach. "Our brother Ethan was killed by your kind. He did nothing wrong. He was mercilessly killed and now, so long as they bare the watch from the null and the potion from our Queen, they are able to walk through Wonderland until 12 people have stepped in their way to aid them towards our queen."

"There are myths circling this land that humans are allowed to kill 12 people." Reona said as she stood next to Kari, her boot on Samson's head.

"Samson," I said as I got up to help him. Tami giggled, suddenly on the other side of him, her foot on his neck, while Larissa stepped forward and picked me up by my hair. I let out a yelp and tried to pull away, but she just stared at me with her red eye.

"Our Queen would never allow such a thing. From that day, we have been the only ones to kill, aside from that assassin Alyce. Apparently, the queen favors her over us." She said as she ground her teeth together.

"Larissa, let her go!" Samson snapped as he struggled under his sisters.

"I have more...worthy plans for her." Larissa said, a sick wide grin on her face.

"What do you plan to do?" I demanded.

"Such a brave tone for a human."

"Well, we humans are brave." I said as I looked up at her. She grinned and shook her head.

"We'll see about that." She said as she pulled me along, practically dragging me towards the trees. I saw them move, their red leaves coming towards us like they had with Dagan Cheshire. "These trees do enjoy an occasional snack, which is why you're going to be their pre-lunch meal. That Hatter and assassin will be next."

"No!" I shouted, trying to get free. I hit her side and her arm, but it did nothing. It was like she couldn't feel it. We heard a soft giggle, as if someone where amused by my pain. It sounded familiar actually.

"_The red, the red, the road is stained red. The Whites, the Whites, the whites kill them dead! Hack, chop, skin them clean! The Whites do as told by our Queen!_"The voice sang.

"Dagan?" I asked the darkness. He dropped down and smiled at me, his purple eyes the same, caring purple as they had been before.

"Miss Alice! Such trouble you've gotten into, no?" He asked me before he looked at Samson. "Mr. White! Such a bad situation with the Whites you've managed to pop into!" He exclaimed before disappearing and appearing next to the girls. He was sitting Indian style with a pout on his lips, hovering. He hovered next to Tami. Fricken HOVERED! He looked at them then at the White. "You're looking a bit pale." He said smiling. "Need some help?" Samson and the other girl's looked his way, Samson's eyes turning red and Dagan's a bright white.

Dagan's grin turned into something that made my skin crawl, his sharp teeth poking out from the other perfect teeth. His ears grew and turned from purple to a sick skin-like color. His eyes, which were calm and pretty, turned into yellow eyes with menacing yellow slits after the white had gone away. His arms were covered in purple tattoos, though, they looked more like scars. On his cheeks were purple scars that looked like whiskers. His chest was covered with stitches and his clothes had changed so he wore a purple shirt that had those sleeves you see on straightjackets. Where was the young boy who was so nice to me?

Samson was no different. His eyes were a blood red, and it wasn't just his irises. His whole eye was red. He grabbed Tami's ankle and pulled her down until she fell, though she flipped over and landed on her hands. Instead of leaving her though, Samson used her as a tool to take out Kari and Reona. Dagan Cheshire jumped on Reona, making her scream. His tail caught Kari off guard while she was running to get Samson off of Tami. Samson and his sister tumbled and before I knew it, I was thrown to the ground, my head aching still, and I heard a few more grunts and a few hisses before I was able to look up again. Dagan sat on Reona while his tail held Kari by the neck. Samson had a rope around his sisters, both of them staring angrily up at him.

"Damn you Samson!" Larissa called.

"That Rabbit was the worst thing to happen to you!" Tami snapped as well.

"The Rabbit," Dagan said, his voice so odd now. It was deeper, as if he had grown up in age, and it sounded angry. "Did not ruin the White." I stared at the White, who looked away.

"What...what happened with the Rabbit?"

"Nothing." He said, trying to brush it off. His eyes were back to normal, their color the familiar, pale turquoise. I stood and looked at Alyce, who was already behind Samson, her hand on his shoulder.

"We all want to know, White. You're the ones who's got to tell us."

"Actually," I heard Dagan say, his voice still deep and angry, though it was amused and somewhat cynical. "I believe one of us here knows the truth about the Rabbit, don't you?" We all looked around until the Hatter shrugged a little and stood next to Alyce.

"It's not my fault the damn Rabbit happened to catch the attention of the Hare." He said with a shrug.

"Just the Hare?" Dagan asked with a sick grin. The Hatter growled.

"I may dip in the jailbait pool but I've no reason to tangle myself with messes like me." I looked between Dagan and the Hatter and wondered what he meant by that. "Anyway, the Rabbit never did anything bad to the White. Mainly because the Rabbit is Ethan." The 6 of us looked at him and then at Dagan then back again.

"E...Ethan?" Tami asked.

"Indeed. Your brother has been trapped in the Null since before you all banished the poor boy here and when he found the Rabbit trying to escape through the window of the Null, Ethan thought it'd be best to keep up the act that he was dead. He'd much rather have his brother than his family, I guess."

"Liar!" Larissa shouted.

"Ask the hairball yourself." The Hatter said while pulling the small rabbit from his pocket. The stuffed animal poked his stubby arms together and stared at the group.


	9. The King and His Tricks

Chapter 9

The King and his Tricks

_"Torn apart at the seams of my dreams turn to tears/I'm not feeling the situation"_

_From Bullet For My Valentine's All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around You)_

"Hey guys!" He said awkwardly. "You guess look great." The hatter rolled his eyes.

"Ethan, they know." The rabbit sighed and rubbed his one eye with his stubby paw. That was Samson's brother? How did Samson not know?

"Thanks Hatter. You're such a nice guy." The man rolled his eyes and shrugged.

"Just tell them already." Hatter said with a sigh.

"Alright, fine." He looked at me and walked over to me. "You're going to help me with this, pick me up." He said as he held up his arms. I reached down and picked him up before turning him to face the others. "Thank you Alice." He said patting my hand. "Anyway, First of all, I blame Alice. If she hadn't come and ruined it all, I wouldn't have to be here." I growled and shook him.

"What? What happened that made me the bad guy?"

"To the point," he said through the shakes. "I'm Ethan White." I threw him to the ground and sneered.

"You can find someone else to hold your stupid stuffed body." I said with a humph.

"Hey!" The four girls called at me, making me jump.

"That day I disappeared," he said as he brushed himself off. "I was stuck in the Null." No one really bothered to speak now. I was sure the five rabbits were holding their breath. Their dead brother just announced himself alive. How would you react? "It wasn't a human who "killed me" was actually the Dodo. She is a tough cookie. I pissed her off and she turned me into this stuffed animal." He said indicating bitterly to his body.

"I thought the Dodo was a man." I said softly to him.

"You cam think that if you want but no way is the Dodo a male." The Hatter laughed gently and rose his eyebrow.

"Mind sharing those details with me a little later?" I winced and glanced at Alyce, who was grinding her teeth together and was squeezing Samson's shoulder tightly. The boy let out a soft gasp of pain before trying to get the girl's hand off of her. She ground her teeth and narrowed her eyes. Was she jealous? Or disgusted?

"Honestly?" She demanded from him. He shrugged a little and stared at her before looking at Ethan, which we all did.

"The Dodo got mad at me and so I was stuck in the Null for a good three years until Samson came along. You four didn't bother looking." He snapped at the four girls. They hung their heads. "No one bothered to even try to find me! They just assumed I was dead!" Samson looked at me then at his brother.

"So you're…."

"I'm stuck like this unless I get to see the Dodo." The Rabbit said.

"So why didn't you go?" Samson asked.

"Why do you think I keep sending Dagan Cheshire to see her!"

"But it's a him." Dagan said, his tongue already licking his long claws. "I've met him."

"You've met her stooge. You met the man she puts out because she's too lazy to get out of bed." The Rabbit said.

"Hm, Oh! Is she the Miss in the back that lounges around with those other men?" The rest of us looked at Dagan, who was tapping his chin with his long finger.

"Yes, that's her." Dagan smiled.

"Ah, I like her." That would have been normal if it hadn't been for the fact that he was still in his scary form. Samson stepped forward, holding his shoulder from where Alyce had dug her nails into.

"Can we get you back to normal Ethan?"

"We'll have to go to her." Hatter said as he put his arm on Alyce, who moved away and stood with me.

"Let's go."

"Hey tell me something," Hatter said as he looked down at the Rabbit, rather, Ethan. "That girl, did she wear a hat and had long red hair and wore a sort of suit that's kind of like mine but a little more on the dark side?" He asked.

"You know her?" Alyce demanded.

"Might have…..flirted on the line of knowing. She's my sister." He said with a small shrug. "The two of us were….uh….having a game with the king and we….well, we lost. I had bet her and she ended up being his….lap dog."

"What do you mean?" Tami asked. It had been the first time I head heard the any of the girls say anything.

"You guys know how Alyce is the Queen's assassin?" The group of us nodded, though I was still so lost. "Well, the Dodo is kind of like that but she's the head wizard that the King uses for his own purposes."

"How do you know?" Larissa demanded, her voice still angry as ever.

"We still get together when there are family events. We celebrate all the holidays you guys do." The Hatter said as he crossed his arms. I was so lost.

"Could you let us go?" Reona demanded as she pulled at Dagan's tail. He looked at Alyce, who looked at Samson. He stared at me and nodded a little.

"Alright, they don't seem to any more danger." He said softly as he took my hand in his. I blushed and looked down at our hands. Dagan came to stand next to me while his hand was in mine as well. His hands were small and warm.

"Miss Alice, I can bring you to the Dodo." I blushed when I looked down at his hand as well.

"Dagan," Alyce said as she stared at the three of us. "You need to bring Hatter, me, Ethan and Samson along with Alice."

"Why not us?" The four sisters demanded.

"You'll get in the way." Alyce snapped at them.

"Why can Alice go?" Kari asked as she put her hand on her hip.

"Dagan, would you bring us if Alice stayed behind?" Dagan shook his head.

"I want to be with Miss Alice."

"I wouldn't go either." Samson added as he tightened his hand in mine. I stared up at Alyce, praying she could save me.

"What about the pervert?" Larissa asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Would you rather me see how much of a pervert I am?" He asked as he suddenly was behind her, his hands on her hips. I looked away and blushed more when I heard his laugh ringing through the small area. Alyce growled louder this time and I looked up at her. She was practically seething mad. Her cheeks were a bright red and she grabbed me and the three, if you include the Rabbit doll, boys and ground her teeth.

"Are you coming or not pervert?" She demanded, not bothering to turn around and stare at the man. His face was buried in her neck and his arms around us before any of us could tell. "Don't touch me." She snapped as she head butted him as Dagan made us disappear.

When we finally landed on solid ground, I was clinging to Alyce, my eyes squeezed shut. Dagan and Samson were walking forward while the Hatter had left us as well. Alyce was carrying me, her heels making hollow empty sounds as they walked on what sounded like a marble floor.

"Alyce, look!" I heard. I didn't want to look.

"He was talking to me Alice. You can keep your eyes shut. This is a rough day." She soothed gently.

"Hatter!" I heard a woman shout before a shattering, making me jump. I looked to find the Hatter grinning while holding a tea cup as a shield. What is with this guy and his crazy abstract weapons? I lifted my head when Alyce passed me off to someone and watched her stand next to the Hatter. "Who is that?" The woman demanded. I got down from Dagan's arms and walked forward as well. He and Samson were on my sides and we were watching as Alyce and the Hatter dealt with the woman in question. She had long red hair that reached far passed her arms and her eyes were a brilliant, dangerous red, though they seemed rather dull at the moment. She wore a hat similar to the Hatters, though instead of cards, there were roses, I think dead ones, and a card that had a king of Hearts on it. I guess we had no doubt who she belonged to. She wore a long tie that was a blood red and matched her military-like uniform. She had string tied around her arms as if she were being kept there by someone, well, we knew who but as if she were….a slave. Her face was perfect and pale. It had no blemishes or obscurities, which was something I think the Hatter should have looked into. She stared at me and I couldn't help but look away. Before I knew it, I was standing in front of her, clutching nothing. She stared at me, leaning down. She must have been at least 6 feet tall. I was only 5'5 but still. She was a giant. I stared up at her, my eyes bulging. What would happen to me?

"Alice." Alyce said as she started forward, but was kept back by the Hatter. I couldn't hear what he said to her but I knew she wasn't going to get me.

"Such a familiar face." She said softly as she touched my cheek. Her fingers began to glow and I swallowed hard. What was she doing? "Such a face that the King would like to see." She said as she stared into my eyes. My head felt funny and I felt woozy. Her red eyes made my eyes go blurry but I still saw her eyes. The red dots in the spinning room. The room was noisy but all I could hear was quiet like in those movies where their lips would move and the words would show up later.

"No!" I heard someone as they pulled me back. I heard the woman scream and I looked up and found it was the Hatter who saved me. Dagan and Samson were standing by Alyce, who had her gun pointed at the Dodo. "You've gotten a bit lazy haven't you sister?" He asked as he looked up from me. The woman found him, as did I when the room finally stopped moving, and laughed.

"You've grown up, boy." She said.

"Don't take that tone with me." The Hatter said as he helped me sit up. "I'm not a little kid anymore."

"You'll always be my little brother, Hatter." She said as she folded her arms over her chest. The Hatter growled and stood, me in his arms. Why do people like doing that? Was I _that _light?

"This isn't about me, Dodo." He said as he started forward. I watched as the woman looked between each of us.

"Then what is it about?" She demanded.

"I need you to change me back." The Rabbit said from Samson's arms. The woman's red eyes found the small rabbit and she grinned. One that mirrored her brother's all too much.

"I remember you. The little minion for the Queen. How is she?" Samson and his brother scowled.

"We haven't seen the Queen in ages." Samson said. I looked at them and when my feet touched the floor, I looked up at the Hatter.

"You'll be safe." He said softly, as if he cared about me. "We'll be here to keep you safe." He said as he pet my head and pushed me behind him.

"Well," The Dodo said as I poked my head from behind the Hatter. He was a tall guy as well, maybe 6'8. I watched as the woman started to take a step but glanced at her arms. She sat down instead and draped her legs over the leg of her couch. "I think my king will be here very soon." She said.

"The king has nothing to do with this!" Samson and Ethan shouted.

"Just change me back and we'll leave."

"You're forgetting," She said as she glanced at Alyce. "Like your assassin, I'm forced to listen to my master."

"I'm not slave." Alyce snapped as she stepped forward, her other hand holding a gun as well. My eyes bulged open. Where did she get that?

"Alyce." Dagan said. He was back to that scary self and I didn't like it.

"So I see we finally meet Dagan Cheshire." The boy bowed his head gently while his ears twitched. It was gross to see him like this. His ears were all weird and-

"Alice," He suddenly looked at me, those eyes making me jump. "Come here please?" I stepped forward and I saw Alyce glaring at Dagan. I stepped closer and when his hand extended to me, I didn't want to touch it. "It's the same Dagan, Alice." He said softly, his eyes turning their normal purple. "The same, Miss Alice." His voice was back to normal too. I wanted to trust him….I liked Dagan. I took his hand in mine and he turned to look at the Dodo. "Alice, this is the Dodo, the King's errand girl, if that's an appropriate thing to say."

"It's not." She snapped.

"Good." Dagan retorted with a grin. "Alice, the Dodo will only agree to turn the Rabbit back into Ethan if she gets something."

"What does she want?" I asked him while looking from him to her.

"I want," She said as she moved to lean forward, almost touching me. "To be free. Find a way for me to get out of this contract I have with the king, and the rabbit will be a man." I frowned and looked back at Ethan and Samson.

"How am I-"

"You need to talk to the Queen." The Dodo said as she leaned back in the couch. "You need to get her to come here and catch the king in the act. If you do that, she'll let me go, probably so Miss Assassin can kill me, and the king will get what's coming his way."

"How do you expect me to get her to come here?" I demanded, my hand leaving Dagan's. I placed it, as well as my other hand, on my hips and watched the woman for answers. Instead, I just got her grin and her red eyes watched me.

"You do whatever is necessary." She said with a shrug.

"How do you know she'll listen to me?"

"I don't." She said as she looked at her hands. "I just know that she'll get angry and let me go. You're the one who has to get her to that point. Lead the horse to water." She said, looking back at me.

"This makes no sense." I said as I shook my head. She shrugged.

"You want the little animal turned into a human, you get the king to let me go. Once I'm free, I can change him back."

"Why can't you do it now?" I demanded.

"Everything I do has to be authorized by the king. If it's not, I get in trouble. I don't like getting in trouble." She said, her voice turning dark. "If you get me free of this tyrant, I'll be happy to turn your rabbit back to what he was." I bit my lip and looked back at Samson and Ethan, who were watching me intently. I couldn't give up the chance to make Samson happy. I sighed and looked at the Dodo.

"Alright fine." I said, making her grin and stand.

"Perfect dear. Now what of yours can I keep until you get me out?" She asked. I looked at Dagan and then at the others.

"I don't have anything." I said as I shrugged.

"You have the watch," The rabbit snapped. I glanced his way.

"Don't I need it?" I questioned, making the rabbit shake his head.

"You can leave it with her. So long as she doesn't break it, it'll be fine." I nodded and pulled the watch from my dress pocket.

"Think this over," Alyce and the Hatter said. "You might not make it back here." They warned. I glanced at the clock then at Dagan.

"What do you think I should do?" I asked. He stared at the watch then at the woman.

"Do you want to save Ethan?" He asked. I nodded, and he did too. "Then do what you need to." I nodded and placed the watch in her hand. She grinned and the watched disappeared from her hands and a string was tied around my wrist.

"Come back when you've got the Queen." She said before flicking her wrist. I was thrown back, as were the rest of us, well, most of us. I hit the ground with a thump and I groaned. I heard Alyce and Samson groan as well. I looked around to find the Hatter and Dagan were gone. I rubbed my head and sat up and when I looked up again, there they stood. Well, Dagan was floating, but yeah.

"My sister said to use the potion to help you. The queen likes games, especially ones with pawns." The Hatter said. I looked at them then reached into my pocket to find the small vile still safe and sound. "_Just a sip will make you tall, but beware of the floors and walls, or maybe it will make you small, then you must beware of things that fall._" Such a dumb riddle but I assume it'll come in handy soon. I got up and looked at Alyce, who was staring at the trees away from us.

"What is it?" I asked.

"He's coming." She said softly.

"Who?"

"It's no doubt who. I've felt this way before. He's so powerful, I feel his approach in my very blood." Samson said with a growl.

"Who?" I demanded again.

"You can tell he's coming from behind mountains and in the rain." Dagan said as he stared out to where Alyce was looking.

"Who?" I shouted finally.

"The King of Wonderland." Ethan, the Hatter and Alyce said together. My stomach tightened. The….The KING? I gripped the bottle in my hand and prayed this would all go well….

"_Please,_" I thought to myself. "_Let this go well so I can save Ethan and make Samson happy. Maybe even go home._" I watched as the trees twitched and a golden cart broke through the trees just moments after. I was the only one to duck. Apparently the others weren't afraid of this guy. Or if they were, they didn't show it.

The carriage slowed to a stop and a door opened suddenly, making me jump. "Alyce." The king's strong voice snapped, making my head shoot up. "Why are you here?" He demanded. I stared at the man. His eyes were a golden color, unlike I had ever seen before. His face was flawless and made of smooth angles. His hair was brown and reached to the bottom of his jaw and sprawled in all directions under his crown. The crow stood magnificent on his head. With a cliché fur bottom, the red fabric in the middle was encased by six legs, red and gold jewels lining those six legs, all the way until a smaller crown, about the size of a palm, sat in the middle, holding it all together. He wore a beige suit with broad shoulders and a crest on the neckline. It was made of a red stone that looked about as big as my thumb. I looked back at the woman, who stood there, her arms crossed over her chest.

"I could ask you the same thing." She retorted. I looked at Dagan, who was hovering with his head turned to look at the king. The Hatter was glaring feverously at the king while Samson watched him warily.

"You dare speak to the king like that!" He shouted, stepping out of the carriage. "I'll have your head for this!" He started forward when Alyce took a step forward as well.

"As if you could cut off my head." She snapped at him while her brown eyes narrowed dangerously on the king. "What are you doing here?" She demanded once more of the king. "My liege?" She added more because she had to rather than she wanted to.

"Miss Alice," Dagan said to my left. I turned to stare at the innocent boy who smiled at me a little. "I think you should stand back here with the Hatter, Samson and me." I nodded and looked at the two behind me. I stood and followed Dagan to the back, away from the fighting powers.

"I was called here," He said proudly as he squared his shoulders. "By someone who said I was needed." Alyce grinned and nodded sarcastically.

"You mean the Dodo?" She questioned. "The woman is a very interesting one. Does your beloved queen know of your perfidy?"

"Alyce," He said, trying to change the subject. "Why don't you work for me? You're abilities are squandered under the queen."

"No, I'm quite alright working for someone with a backbone." The King laughed, his eyes looking around before resting on me.

"I see you've gathered a bunch of misfits from our dear land but that one," he rose his hand to point to me. "She's new." Alyce turned back to look at me.

"What's it to you?" Alyce demanded as she turned back to stare at the man.

"What is she doing here?" She asked, stepping toward me. Alyce, however, placed herself in front of him. "Does she have something to hide?" He asked. "You've never protected a human before."

"Maybe I've found someone worth protecting." She said coolly while her stance eased a little.

"How much is she worth to you Alyce?" Odd question….

"More than you could offer me." She said as she crossed her arms.

"Even helping the stuffed animal over there?" We all turned to look at Ethan, who was staring at his paws. His ears twitched and his head turned so he could see, the eye patch in his way.

"No. No-"

"Alyce!" I shouted as my eyes went wide. She was going to give up a chance to save Ethan!

"I'd much rather find a damn dandelion to eat up the stupid White than work for his majesty." Alyce said while glaring at the King.

"The king is good Alyce!" Dagan said while walking on his hands over to the king. His long purple hair touched the ground and I saw his face, his real face, for the first time. His face was pale and adorable and though he was upside down, it was still so handsome. "The Queen trusts him. We must always trust the queen." I watched as he but his feet on the ground and straightened up. He sounded like one of those brainwashed soldiers. He smiled at Alyce and then at the King. "We should play a game! I love games!" The king had a wide grin that made my stomach turn over and over.

"As do I, Dagan." He said while patting his head. "Does Alyce like games?"

"Alyce and I play card games all the time!" he shouted. The king smiled and turned his golden eyes to me.

"Do you like games, little human?" I stared, unable to make words. "No? Perhaps you and I will play games. I'll make them fun. We'll even have a wager to make it more fun no?" I couldn't help but stare. "If you win, I'll bring you and your friends to the Queen and help your little bunny friend. But if I win, Alyce must be mine."

"Why not take Alice?" Dagan said with an innocent look. WHAT! ME! "She'll be more interesting to the queen don't you think?" I swallowed. Why would I want to be of interest to the queen?

"No!" Alyce managed to shout out.

"I'll play your game." I said as I stepped forward.

"You will do no such thing!" Alyce snapped at me. "The games here aren't the same as they are back in your world. It's-" The scenery around us jumped, literally. Samson, the Hatter, Dagan, Alyce, the king and I were standing on nothing. Like when I fell into the whole, which seemed like days ago, we began to fall. Fall as if we were nothing but weightless things. I tumbled over and over, trying to grab the others.

"We'll be ok!" I shouted to them.

"Alice," Alyce snapped at me. "Stop this nonsense." She said while glancing at the king. "We're perfectly fine. I blinked and stared at Alyce, the Hatter and Samson on one side of my and the King, the Dodo and Dagan on the other side. I blinked and watched as the Dodo rolled her eyes and stared back at me.

"Little human, we meet once more." I nodded and looked around only to find I was upside down. My dress wasn't moving with gravity like it should have however it just sat there like normal. Right…this place is crazy.

"Before we start," The king said as he watched us. "I was wondering. What time do you have, Alice?" I looked in my pocket and found my watch was gone.

"Once again, Miss Alice," Samson said as he held out his hand for mine. I took it and in my hand appeared my watch, dirty and worn. "You must take better care of your things." I smiled a little and nodded.

"Right, sorry Samson."

"OH, hurry up with the clock!" Ethan muttered from Samson's shoulder.

"Uh," I stared down at the clock and blinked. It said 11.

"Eleven," I curtsied of course. "Your majesty." He grinned and nodded.

"Eleven!" Samson demanded as he snatched the watch from my hand.

"You're far too close to be playing around!" Ethan snapped. "You are even joking right now? The queen is your next visitor! She must be! If she is not the twelfth then you will never return to your land."

"Ethan," Alyce said as she turned to him. I stared at the girl, who's brown eyes dimmed while she took off her gloves.

"When am I to return home?"

"You were not born here?" Samson asked.

"No, rabbit. I was born from Alice's world and got stuck here."

"How long have you been here Alyce?" I asked. She turned to me, her face drawn.

"What year is it?"

"1976." Alyce turned to look at the ground.

"Fifteen years…"

"Fifteen _years_!" I demanded as I watched her. "That's nonsense! How old are you?"

"When I arrived I was 21 years old." She said with a shrug. The king sneered

"Are we to play this game or not?" Alyce turned to him and placed a top hat on her head. It was the Hatter's.

"We are, but I shall stand in Alice's place." I reached out to her but she stepped forward. "Hatter." She said as she looked at him gently. "Take Alice to the Queen."

"I'm afraid," The king said as he crossed his arms. "No one leaves until our game is over." Alyce sighed and nodded.

"Fine then." She stated while taking a dominant stance. "What is the game we will play, your _majesty_?" She stared at him while he tapped his chin coyly.

"I think we shall play a game of tag." Alyce frowned and nodded. With a snap, the chains around the Dodo's neck dropped and her eyes, which were a dangerous, dull red, began to glow. Glow like a fire in a hearth. Her hat fell off and her long red hair flew around her shoulders and rose slowly into the air. I stared and watched in horror as she turned from a human into a fire bird. The bird stood next to the King, her wings extended while she opened her beak and let out a long "Caw". Alyce stood unflinching however.

"Tag it is then." She said as she lifted her skirt a little to grab the gun in it's holster on the inside of her thigh.


	10. The End Begins

Chapter 10

The End Begins

_"Her prince finally came to save her and the rest you can figure out/ But it was a trick and the clock struck 12/ Well make sure to build your house brick by boring brick/or the wolves gonna blow it down" _

_From Paramore's Brick by Boring Brick_

"How long has that been there?" I asked her.

"Long enough. I need you to go with the Hatter and stay far away from here."

"Why can't I go with you?" The Hatter demanded, his hand gripping her arm. She stared at him, a frown on her face.

"This is a game between her and me. The king even declared it."

"You don't give a rat's ass about the king." He snapped at her. "You are _not_ doing this alone Alyce." She licked her lips and sighed.

"King," she said while looking away from the Hatter.

"Alyce," he said calmly, already sitting on a throne. "Is there something you'd like to change about our little game?"

"I'm allowed two helpers in this game." She said while looking back at Dagan. "Would you help me with this, old friend?" She asked him. As he started forward, his grin wide and stretching from ear to ear, he was suddenly in a box. A crate.

"Not him, Alyce. Nor the rabbit." The King said and I looked at Samson, who was trapped in a cage.

"Alice, then." She said while putting her hand in mine and pulling me to her side.

"What!" I shouted. "I can't play! I'm not good at any sport! Hide-and-Seek is as far as my skills go." Alyce rolled her eyes.

"You have to have faith in yourself." Alyce said. "Let me see your bottle." I patted myself down in search for the bottle and found it hiding in my sock. I handed her the vile and she glanced at Samson. "Is this like mine?" She asked the rabbit.

"Everyone gets the same vile, Alyce. There can be no different." Ethan said as he shook his head. Alyce nodded and handed me the drink.

"Take a sip." She ordered. "You'll need to be a little taller to fight this battle with me." She announced.

"I thought you said this was a game." I protested while staring at the vile in my hands.

"The games here are battles. You don't understand, little pest." The Hatter snarled while turning the older woman to face him. "Don't do this." He snapped. "This is suicide. Why are you doing this? To save a girl? This is nonsense!"

"Hey!" I shouted as I crossed my arms. "I'm not a little girl!"

"You are, child, now silence." The Hatter growled while staring at Alyce.

"I'm doing this for the Rabbit. If we win, I can save the creature." Samson called my name, making me turn away from the couple and walked over to the cage where he was.

"What is it Samson?" I asked softly.

"Change the stakes." He said as he took my hand in his through the cage's bars. "Change them. If you win, then the king must give the Dodo the ability to change Ethan back and bring you to the Queen. If he should win, you and Alyce are to be with the King and the King only."

"Samson!" Ethan snapped while hitting his brother on the head. "Do you understand what a terrible idea that is?" I blinked and watched Ethan.

"Why is that a bad idea?" I asked.

"With Alyce, the Dodo and you, the King could easily overthrow the Queen of hearts!" I looked back at Alyce and Hatter, who were now speaking to the king.

"Are you ready to start this game?" She demanded.

"Hurry!" Samson tugged on my hand. "Go!" I stood straight up.

"Wait!" I shouted. "Wait!" Alyce and the Hatter turned to me while the king rose his eyebrow. "I propose we change the winnings." I started forward and stood between Alyce and the Hatter. "If Alyce should win, you tell the Dodo to change Ethan and let her go." The bird blinked and turned it's head. "And! And.… you escort us personally to the Queen."

"And if I should win?" The king demanded while the flaming bird once again let out a shrill call. It seemed displeased. As did the king.

"You get Alyce and myself. And you get to keep the Dodo." The King grinned and nodded. He seemed to think the same thing that Ethan did.

"And what of the Hatter?" He demanded while staring at the blond man. The Hatter sneered.

"You'll never-"

"You get him as well!" I shouted. "The three of us. We are your prize if you should win."

"I suppose it is a fair deal." He said as he looked at the Dodo. "Do you suppose this is a something good?" He asked her.

"Of course." The bird said with a bowed head.

"Then let's begin." I said as I looked at Alyce and Hatter. "Explain this to me." I said as I turned and pulled them along. "Explain to me how we play tag."

"There's nothing to it." Alyce said while handing the gun in her hand to me. "We are it. And we must tag her until she dies." I blinked.

"Dies?" I demanded. "That's-"

"There's nothing wrong with dying." The Hatter said. "Dying is nothing here." The Hatter removed the red overcoat he wore and rolled the sleeves of the white shirt he wore. "You are the vulnerable one, however." He turned and placed his hands in his pockets. Alyce and I looked at him, who was drinking a cup of tea.

"Drink now, young Alice." He said as he held out the vile that had been in my hands just moments ago. "We need you and Alyce to get taller to fight this damn thing." I looked at Alyce, who was already as tall as a church. I looked at the Hatter again, who was the same height. I looked at the bottle and took a sip, only to find myself smaller. "You imbecile…What did you think of when you drank that?"

"To be taller like you."

"No, think to be smaller."

"But that's nonsense." I said as I shook my head. "If I wanted to be smaller, I would have thought that."

"Just, do what he says Alice." Alyce said gently. I sighed and took another sip, the only thing in my brain was to become small as a button. I opened my eyes and looked around and everything was normal, except for the fact that the king, Dagan and Samson were all small and the Dodo looked giant. I looked at Alyce and Hatter, who were taller than me but only because they had originally been that way. I swallowed hard and stared at the Dodo.

"Shall the game begin now?" The Dodo asked, her voice still oddly dull. The scenery, which was still just black, evolved. It changed so that we were in a large field with grass that covered our heads. I looked over at Alyce, who wasn't there anymore. The Hatter stood close to me, his eyes staring above him.

"This is the part in the game," He said, his pale grey eyes turning a golden color. "For you to run. Don't let her see you, Alice. And, do you know how to shoot?" I shook my head and handed him the gun. He rolled his eyes, took my hand in his and turned me around. He pressed me against his chest and crouched us down. We were staring up at the sky and before I knew it, there was a screech from the bird. His lips touched my ear as a grin appeared on his face. "It's simple, little Alice. Aim and pull the trigger." His finger lay on mine, which was resting on the trigger. As the bird flew over, his finger pushed mine back, which pushed the trigger. My arms shook and my ears rang.

"Hit one for the Assassin's team." I heard Ethan's voice say with a hint of excitement.

"See? Easy." He said softly. "Alyce and I will be doing the same so you wont need to use all of your bullets. But if you do happen to run out," He stood, and apparently so did I, and he pointed to where Dagan sat, his hands chained together, his eyes a bright white. "Dagan is allowed to give you munitions." I looked at Samson and Ethan, who were chained as well. One was around their neck, the other around their hands. "Remember Alice, we must win. I don't want to work for that block head and have to deal with my sister all the time." I looked at him and nodded.

"I'll do my best to keep us from that." He nodded as well and tipped his hat.

"The best of luck to you then, Little human." He said before he disappeared in the golden shoots. I looked around and saw the Dodo coming my way. I ducked like the Hatter had told me and quickly ran around. I heard a loud caw before I heard something of a meteor hit the Earth. My head shot up and I saw a giant crater just a few feet from where the King was sitting.

"Hit one for the Dodo." Samson announced grouchily. I swallowed hard and quickly made my way towards that crater. The Dodo flew over head but apparently she didn't see me. The bird let out a call again and the ground shook with another meteor hit. Samson was silent. She had missed….I turned and poked my head up just a little to see her flying around the small field. She was going to head my way. I got lower, and stared up, the only thing I could see was the fake sky that had been projected by the king. Over head, I heard the loud screech of the bird and just seconds later, my arms shook and my ears rang.

"Hit two for the Assassin's team!" Ethan shouted merrily. I opened my eyes to see nothing above me. I stood and saw the bird had a bleeding wing tip. Her eyes locked on mine and I was frightened. Beyond believe. I thought dandelions were scary. No, my friends. When a giant, angry, firey bird is staring at you coming to hurt you, that is when you are frightened. "Hit three for the Assassin's team!" The bird had been hit from it's left and I saw Alyce crouching on the rock where Dagan was in his shackles. The Dodo seemed to be getting angry. Each time she got hit, a louder cry would be heard and she gave off more and more attacks to us. It rained fire upon the poor earth and before long, Samson spoke up.

"Hit two and three for the king's team." His voice was hollow and the sound of it made me panic. Looking to where the smoke came from, I started to run as fast as I could to where Alyce and Hatter were. Or…were _supposed _to be. I stared at the crater that was embedded into the ground and found no sign of either of them. I looked around and saw Alyce and Hatter already attacking the Dodo once more, both narrowly missing attacks from the Dodo. However, she turned her head and stared at me, those fire red eyes locking on mine. I swallowed hard and rose my gun, pointed for it's head and squeezed my eyes shut.

"Ga…Game over?" Two said together, making my eyes pry open. Huh? Was I dead? The bird slowly dimmed, as if she were going out like a candle, and fell to the earth. I ran to her, pushing passed the tall grass. I stopped when I saw the Dodo rising to her feet, grabbing her hat from the ground. She brushed it off slowly and looked at me. Alyce and the Hatter quickly ran through the grass as well and stared at the woman.

The Dodo smiled at me and placed her hat on my head. "Thank you Little Human." She said as she looked at the King, whose face was red with anger. The king rose to his feet and snapped his fingers, the scenery once again being yanked from underneath us. This time, I didn't panic, and this time, I had a reason to.

We were falling down a black hole….Probably to our deaths.

The air rushed around me, the sound of the wind making my ears pop. I couldn't even open my eyes. It wasn't until someone's arms wrapped around me did I looked up to find the Hatter rocketing downward, me in his arms. The Hatter was perfectly still, the only thing showing he was falling was his long blond hair was pulled back by the wind. Alyce and the Dodo were behind us, looking as if nothing was wrong. I never realized how much of a little kid I was. I mean, the three elders were completely confident as they fell to their deaths. I was freaking out. Not to mention what happened to Dagan and Samson and Ethan. They were no where to be found. I could only feel the knot in my stomach growing at the thought of the king hurting them. What would he do? Would he hurt them?

"Hatter," the Dodo said as her eyes turned a blazing red. The hatter's eyes turned a yellow and Alyce cast a wary glance between the two. The two of them were siblings, I remember them saying, and they certainly acted like it now. The two had this way about them that only siblings could have. They knew what the other was thinking. You don't have to be a twin to know what your sibling is thinking.

"What are you two thinking?" Alyce asked, apparently as lost as I was.

"The king has thrown us somewhere," the Hatter said as he glanced her way.

"So we're going to bring us back." finished the Dodo. Great! Just what we need. Wizards…or demons, whatever they are, doing their crazy mumbo jumbo!

"Just don't kill us Hatter." Alyce said as she stared at him for a moment. I saw something flicker in her eyes; fear. She was as scared as I was and she questioned if the Hatter could really fix this. The hatter threw a signature grin towards her, the smug and looked at his sister. She nodded and the two stared towards wherever down was. Wherever the bottom was… Before we knew it, we were engulfed in a fire-like light and the Dodo's caw made my ears ring. As if the light and the noise were some sort of key, the world burst into color and we tumbled around. I rolled my head around until I found Alyce laying on the ground, her dress covered in dirt.

"Alyce?" I asked as I got up and crawled over to her. The Hatter and the Dodo were missing but I was more concerned with Alyce. "Alyce are you ok?" She let out a small groan and her eyes opened, those eyes so similar to mine.

"Yeah. The Hatter has thrown me to worse places. And with less of a ground to land on." My eyebrows drew together and I couldn't help but wonder what she meant. "Help me up Alice." She said as she turned on her back and started to get up. My hands gripped her arm as I tired to pull her to her feet. She patted herself down, brushing off the dirt that had accumulated on her skirt.

"Where are they?" I asked her.

"Who knows? Somewhere being demons." I nodded. So they _were _demons!

"Why must you take that tone with what we are?" The Hatter said from behind us. I turned to him, as did Alyce, and saw the siblings brushing themselves off as well. Alyce crossed her arms and stared at the siblings.

"Where to now?" She asked.

"Alice needs to meet the Queen."

"We need to get Ethan, Samson and Dagan back." I said quickly. The three stared at me and I at them. Alyce's hair was dirty and clumped together and there were spots of black and blue already showing on her face. She had a few scratches under her eyes and along her chin. Her brown eyes stared at me, confused. I hadn't really grasped a sense of who she was. I knew she was an assassin who apparently had some sort of feelings for the Hatter. She was a soldier for the queen and she knew 7 people according to her clock. I looked at the Hatter, who's eye had turned to that ordinary grey, and swallowed. He was a bit of a pervert since he spent most of his time with the Dormouse and the March Hare, who were both underage girls. I couldn't help but look away. I looked next at the Dodo. Her eyes were still a dull red and her red hair was now spilling over her slender shoulders and her clothes were dusty. She, too, was an enigma and I honestly had no idea who she was. Nothing about her made sense.

"They're probably already at the Queen's Castle." The Hatter said as he lifted his hat from his head and brushed his hand through his hair. "They're strange like that." I frowned and stared at Alyce.

"He's right, Alice. Knowing Dagan, he'll already be next to the queen getting milk or something while Samson and Ethan are with their sisters."

"That bunny," the Dodo said. "He's back to normal now." I looked at her and smiled a little.

"You changed him back?" I asked, making her nod.

"I said I would and I am a woman of my word." The Dodo said. I nodded a little and looked at the other two.

"Where is the queen's castle?" The hatter walked over to me and held out his arm like those princes in the old movies.

"We'll guide you there, Alice. Don't worry." He said as he gave me a smile. I nodded and walked passed him to stand between Alyce and the Dodo.

"We should go." The Dodo smiled at me and nodded.

"You, little human, are a very smart woman." She said as she took her hat off and placed it on my head. I smiled a little and looked at her before we started forward, leaving the hatter to walk alone.

"Alyce," I said as I looked at her. "Is the queen nice? I don't want Ethan, Samson, and Dagan to get hurt." Alyce nodded a little and glanced at the Dodo.

"She is a sad woman." The Dodo said instead of Alyce. "Her life is one of great despair. I have known the queen a long time and it has been an honor to be part of her kingdom."

"Then why do you work for the King?" The Hatter snorted from behind us.

"I am, after all, his creation. As are you, brother." She said as she glanced at him. I looked back as well. What did that even mean?

"What the Dodo is saying, Alice, is that this world is a little...strange." I couldn't help but snort at Alyce's statement. Strange? This place was the center of strange. "The queen, Alice, was married to a very handsome prince named Charming." I glanced at woman.

"And," the Dodo said. "She had a child. Or, rather, was expecting one."

"The child, however, didn't make it through birth." the Hatter muttered. I glanced back at him and for the first time, I saw true sadness in his face.

"The queen has had a life of despair." Alyce said sadly. "I was part of her court when she had to bury her own daughter. The queen went into a state of depression and she locked herself in her room. No one was allowed in and she never even came out of her room to eat. I remember that she'd always let me in when I came to give her food and she'd always tell me things like how much she would have loved to have a room especially for her daughter in the castle. She said that she'd make a whole world especially for her daughter and that there would be things in the world that would make her daughter happy. Like a cat boy that could play with her and a little mouse that will play tea party with her. She wanted to make a family of bunnies that would live in the backyard and a little hare that plays with them."

"It was the king who made the world like this." The Dodo said as she frowned. "The king was at first the thing that made the queen happy and then the king found someone else and the world started to take a turn for the worst. The creatures of the world turned different."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Dagan became that thing you saw when we were fighting the whites." The Hatter said. "The whites became those girls. The Hare and the Dormouse hangout with me all the time."

"The King in her life," the Dodo said. "Took her from her haven and the queen grew angry. She turned the things in Wonderland bad to go against the king."

"How did she even meet the king?" I asked.

"You see," Alyce said as I looked at her again. "The queen was a very good artist." I rose my eyebrows. That was unexpected. "But her family didn't like that. They said she needed to learn how to be a proper lady. That she needed to be good at cooking and cleaning and she needed to be a good wife. So that's what the queen did."

"But," Hatter said. "As the story goes, the queen was beside the river in her homeland and as she stared aimlessly at the river," The trees gave way to open space and the sky and grass seemed to change to watercolors. They seemed to be a painting. The sun was warm on my pale skin and the breeze made the stray ends of my hair tickle my nose. I saw a woman sitting on a blanket a few feet away from us and as we walked closer, her blond hair was stained almost a pure white from the sun. Her face was hidden by the rather large blue hat she was wearing that matched her beautiful blue dress. She seemed sad as she stared out at the river.

"On her glove covered hand, a butterfly fluttered down." I watched as a butterfly floated gracefully onto her fingers. She smiled and rose her hand to get a better look at it and before I knew it, she was drawing.

"The queen loved beautiful things. She loved making the world of beauty her own. But her father was the most adamant about being a good wife. He tore the notebook from her hands and started to scream at her." I watched as a man grabbed the notebook from her. The scenery moved with us, as if we were walking in a movie, and I watched in horror as the man threw the notebook to the ground. The queen's eyes were hidden by her hat but the tears streamed down her pink cheeks. She picked up the notebook and smoothed out the pages. She wanted it to be normal again. I felt my eyes fill to the brim. She wanted to take the thing she worked on and the thing she loved and make it better again. She wanted it to be hers and hers alone. She wanted it to be beautiful….

"She ripped up the paper and the butterfly floated away." I watched in horror as she slowly ripped the page down the length of it, tearing the wings off her butterflies.

"She stayed in that field for hours until the sun fell. The King found her there and found her picture. He put it back together, like that story about the egg," the Dodo said as she glanced my way, "And told her the picture was beautiful. He brought her home to her own castle and encouraged her to be an artist."

"He was a peasant man who had no money or any importance but he made the queen happy and so she married him." Alyce said smiling. The scenery faded away from us and we were left in the cold dark woods again. "The king and queen before our queen were happy she was going to be a wife and so they allowed her to get married. They spoke of building a home on their own. Brick by brick they would build it so they could raise their own family."

"But the queen's parents grew ill and she and her King were the next to succeed into the monarchy."

"Oh," I said as I looked at the ground. "The poor queen."

"The queen will not do anything to harm the three males. She created them and they are hers to enjoy." The Dodo assured.

"But Alyce," I said. "You said you didn't like the queen."

"She has her days." Alyce mentioned. "It's a difficult thing, working for a woman who's whole life is creating the world you live in." I frowned and shook my head. This whole thing was confusing.


	11. Time to Meet the Queen

Chapter 11

Time to Meet the Queen

_"Little bird, little bird, little bird what do you see?/ A picture perfect scene/ Two toned lawns are manicured/ The garden's wearing a haute couture/ It's hiding something/It's trying too hard"  
From Imogen Heap's Little Bird _

"Are you real Alyce?" I asked her suddenly. She looked at me and nodded.

"I am, Alice."

"Are there two of you?"

"There are, Alice."

"If you get hurt here, do you get hurt there?"

"No." I sighed. That's good at least. I don't want Alyce to get hurt.

"That game we played, you were killed. All of you were hurt, so...you aren't really hurt?"

"No, little human." The Dodo said.

"We're fine." The Hatter also said. I frowned, trying to figure it all out.

"So why must we see the queen?"

"She can bring you home." Alyce quickly said. "Don't you want to go home?" I did want to go home. That's all I've wanted since I got here.

"Then it's settled. We'll go see the queen and she'll bring you home." The Hatter said as he pet my head. I pouted and stared at the woods around us.

"Why did the king do this?" I asked. None of them answered and it took them a while to really answer.

"The king wants to get rid of the three of us." Alyce said grimly. I moved aside so the Hatter could stand between Alyce and me. I looked up at the Dodo and bit my lip.

"The three of you? Didn't you work with him though?"

"I did," said the Dodo. "But only because he created me. Now that I am no longer his, he has the means to get rid of me." The Hatter drapped his arm over Alyce's shoulder. He whispered something into her ear and she quickly punched him in the jaw.

"You pervert." She muttered as she walked on, her cheeks a pale red. The Hatter frowned and rubbed his cheek. I looked at them before looking back at the Dodo.

"Dodo," I said softly. "Do they love each other?" She glanced at the two, who were fighting, Alyce already starting to wide up another hit on the Hatter. He was grinning, though, and quickly dodged the all of the hits she threw at him.

"They love each other's company," she started. "They love having someone around they can beat on and who can beat them back. They have no use for weak people. They are opposites. Alyce a creation born of the queen's good nature and the Hatter from the King's bad nature. It's only natural they find each other attractive." The Dodo smiled at me and I tugged her had further onto my head. I probably seemed like a little kid to everyone.

"Do you love anyone's company?" I asked as I watched the scenery change. We were walking through the woods but the trees soon became thinner and thinner and we were on a hill. I stopped and stared. Directly ahead was a castle the size of a mountain. The field was a lush green and it looked so soft. The three adults turned to me again and frowned.

"What's wrong?" Alyce asked me. I bent down and ran my hands over the grass.

"I can't believe this place is a fantasy..."

"Well," the Hatter said. "If it makes you feel better, this place isn't really a fantasy. It just started out that way." I looked up at him.

"What?" I asked.

"This place is real. You've seen how real it is. Those four rabbits easily hurt you. You got crushed by Samson while he was trying to protect you. They got hurt when Dagan and Samson put them on leashes. The Dodo got hurt when we were playing tag. Alyce and I died. This world is real, it's just the fact that it didn't really exist before the Queen."

"How is that possible?" I asked as I stood.

"The queen can do a lot."

"Can we visit her?"

"I'm afraid she lives in a fairy tale somewhere too far for us to find." The Dodo said as she shook her head. Huh? Anyone understand what that meant? Nopes. Me neither...I shook my head and started forward, leading the three again towards the castle. The sooner we got there, the sooner we can get Dagan and Samson back.

"You're still thinking they're in trouble." The Hatter said. "Those three are fine." I frowned a little and shook my head.

"Can you just open the gates to this thing already?" I asked, pointing to the door across the large moat we were standing in front of. Time really flew when you're having an interesting conversation. The two siblings looked at each other and then at Alyce.

"You'll have to ask Alyce that one," The Hatter said. He watched Alyce, who rolled her sleeves up.

"Let's see if I can do this..." She muttered before cracking her knuckles. She watched the wall and the gate carefully. She backed up about 10 paces and then took off running. She ran hard until she got to the edge. Then, she jumped. She jumped and completely cleared the wall. Like it was just a simple hurdle she could jump over and not a 30 foot wall.

I couldn't help my mouth from falling open. Neither could the other two. We just watched as Alyce landed gracefully on the top and then jumped over. The last thing I saw was the last bit of her hair before she disappeared behind the wall. We watched as the bridge fell open and on the other side stood Alyce, flipping her hair gently over her shoulder.

"Ready?" She asked. The Hatter was the first to walk across the bridge and pet Alyce on the head.

"You did well little one." He said. Alyce's cheeks grew pink and her eyes narrowed.

"Little one?" She snarled as she turned around and followed after him.

"Come, little human," the Dodo said. "We're going to have to help them keep it quiet or we'll get kicked out by the cards."

"Cards?" I asked as I followed after her quickly.

"That's how the queen defends her castle. The king has chess pieces. If we're lucky, we wont have to meet either." The Dodo gave me a smirk before glancing at the two yelling adults. "Alice, do me a favor and keep quiet? I'm going to make sure those two don't ruin our chances of meeting the queen." I nodded and smiled before putting my hands over my mouth gently. The Dodo smiled and ran her hand through her hair before shaking it out and jogging over to the other two. They looked at her and started to yell before she hit both of them on the head and they fell to the ground silently.

"Ar-" The Dodo turned around, her eyes a glowing red, and placed her finger on her lips.

"Remember." I nodded a little and zipped my lips. She tipped her head and waved her hand for me to walk over to her. I jogged over and she tapped the hat on my head. "Let's get going." She said before picking up the two and smiled at them. "Now, be quiet children. We'll be meeting the queen soon." They nodded and tried to open their mouths but they were closed shut. I guess she was the most powerful of the three.

The first thing I noticed when we walked into the castle was that it seemed dead. Everything about the place was broken and destroyed. The walls were broken down and chipping. The floors were broken like an earthquake ran through the house and only the house. Nothing in the house seemed bright or happy about the castle what-so-ever. The windows were a deep royal purple that reflected water worked colors and stained the dusty marble floor. Alyce and the Hatter were moving and silent. We walked through the building, Alyce leading our way. She turned in our direction and put her hands on her slender hips.

"Right," Alyce said. "We're going to split up. Hatter, you and I are going to find Ethan, Dagan and Samson. Alice, you and Dodo go look for the Queen. Your watch is on eleven now right?" I patted myself down and found the watch hiding next to my leg. Pulling it up, I wiped off the screen and nodded.

"Eleven." I confirmed as I tucked it away again.

"Alright, the queen is the last one and after that you should go home."

"Just like that?" I asked.

"No," the Dodo said. "You need to drink the potion she gives you." I turned my head. Potion? No one mentioned a potion. Then again, no one really mentioned anything.

"What is it?" The Dodo and the Hatter exchanged glances.

"Inside the watch," started the Hatter. "There is a counter and sometime during your encounters you got a piece of the people you meet."

"What do you mean?" I asked as I narrowed my eyes. "It's just a watch."

"Well, you see, did you learn something about the lion when you met him? Did you get something from the caterpillar? Did Cheshire touch you?"

"I learned that Leo was lonely." I offered as I thought back to it. He was lonely.

"Well that means you got a piece of his hope. He wants you to come back right?" the Dodo asked. I nodded and thought back to the poor dandelion. "And the caterpillar?"

"He gave me directions to the queen."

"Then you got some of his wisdom." The Hatter said with a nod. "Though, I don't know if he really has any. The creature is more bug than man if you ask me."

"What of Dagan?" The Dodo asked, glaring at her brother.

"I uh…He hugged me." I muttered as I blushed. He was so cute when he hugged me…I liked being with Dagan. He made me happy.

"I don't understand," said the Hatter. "You should have taken something from him."

"Well, he said he wanted to make me happy…does that count?"

"Awe!" Alyce said as she pet my head. "You got some of his love!" I blushed a little and fought a pout. He didn't give me any of his love….

"And Alyce?" The Hatter asked.

"She gave me this dress." I said as I indicated to the dress I was wearing.

"She gave you her kindness."

"The twins were next." Alyce said as she crossed her arms. "They offered their annoyance."

"What did they give you, Alice?" The Dodo asked as she glanced at Alyce then at me.

"They told me a story."

"They what?" Alyce asked.

"They told me a story about a little bunny getting help from a fox."

"Oh, that story," Hatter said as he started to chuckle. "How appropriate."

"What do you mean?" the Dodo asked. "I'm unfamiliar with this story."

"The bunny gets stuck so she accepts help from a fox. An owl tries to persuade her to let him help and when she gives in, he pulls her out and starts to bring her away. Then the fox chases after the owl and when she explains to him that she's sorry she believed the owl, the fox stopped running. The fox said, 'You should have faith in others.' And when she said she put her faith in the owl, he retorted with; 'You shouldn't have doubted someone who offered help to you in the first place'." I looked at him and then at the Dodo.

"I still don't see the relevance."

"The bunny is Alice." Said Hatter. "And the fox is people she's met while the owl is the Queen." Alyce nodded, as did the Hatter.

"How true…."

"So wait…the Queen's going to eat me?" I asked, making Hatter laugh.

"No no. It's a metaphor. You have our help but you still think you need the Queen instead of us."

"Don't I?" Hatter shrugged and crossed his arms. "You know, keeping things is rude! Especially when it's something that could help or hurt me!"

"You're not that important Alice." Hatter said. "You're just another human."

"I meant people like me! People who ask for help!" He huffed and the Dodo sighed a little before crossing her arms.

"Alice, how about we get on to who else you met? Who was next?" I thought back and stared at Hatter.

"Hatter, Dormouse and the Hare." I said as I blushed. The thoughts of him and me….

"He gave you his lust." I blushed more and the Hatter laughed.

"Ah, but you have my heart," he said to Alyce, making her roll her eyes.

"You two got in a big fight," I mentioned as I looked at the Dodo. Maybe she had another thing that the Hatter gave me.

"Ah, his anger. Something that is very precious indeed." I smiled and sighed a little, happy it wasn't his lust.

"The Dormouse sang for you, so she gave you…uh…." The Hatter trailed off, trying to think. "And March told you something about the rabbit's and tick-tock." Hatter said as he waved his hand about.

"Ah," said the Dodo. "They gave you the sense of urgency. While the Dormouse's song was carefree and fun, the Hare's warning was a message for you to pick up the pace. One compliments the other, so on and so forth. Who was next?"

"The four White Sisters. They almost killed Samson." The Dodo frowned.

"Those four don't count."

"Why not?" I asked as I looked around at Hatter and Alyce.

"Their intentions are not in the interest of the Queen. Their hearts are poisoned by vengeance and polluted by hate. The next?" The Dodo demanded.

"You," I said as I shrugged. The Dodo nodded and moved her hair. I looked around at the other two, assuming they'd speak for her.

"I taught you cunning. You never would have won that game had you not met me. Then you met the King, yes?" I nodded. "Ah, he taught you self-preservation." The Dodo didn't seem pleased about all of this. "You're missing two, aside from the queen. Who did you meet?"

"No one. Hatter said Samson and Ethan counted as one." I said as I looked at Hatter, who was smirking.

"When together, they were one but now they are separate. Who did you meet, Little Alice?" The Hatter asked me.

"Samson and Ethan White," I said as I looked at the Dodo. "Samson said I gave him courage. He-He…." The thought of Samson's lips on my own was too much. I couldn't speak because I was trying to stop my ears and cheeks from growing red.

"He kissed her." Hatter said as he rolled his eyes. "In the middle of an important battle too."

"Ah," said the Dodo. "Samson, the boy yes?" I nodded and looked away. "He gave you his courage. You were brave for him right?" I nodded, thinking about his sisters.

"I stopped the sisters from hurting him."

"Oh," said the Dodo, her tone intrigued. "You stood up to the Whites? On your own?"

"I had Samson. I wasn't alone. Ethan…I don't know what I got from him."

"You two had an interesting relationship," Alyce said with a smirk. "You hated the Rabbit since you met him. But you did what you could to help him right? And even when there was no hope but to get the King's approval, you jumped right in."

"He gave you a sense of purpose." The Dodo said with a smile. "A good gift to get from someone. Alice, you have one more gift to receive and I'm not sure what it is. You'll have to figure it out on your own when we're finding the queen." I nodded a little, though I felt like shaking my head and running away, and looked around the castle.

"Ready to go or should I go on my own?" I asked, making Alyce and the Hatter salute a little and walk away. The Dodo started forward and I followed close behind, taking in the world around me. The whole place was silent. So silent it was scary every time our feet connected with the ground. The Dodo took her time getting from one place to another and when we rounded a corner, she stopped. I looked around her to see a woman sitting against a throne. Her blond hair was long, almost to her mid back, and her skin was pale. I looked up at the Dodo, who slowly started forward.

"Who's there?" the Queen snarled out.

"Your majesty," the Dodo responded, bending to one knee. "I am the Dodo." The Queen turned to look at us and her blue eyes were dead.

"You…" she whispered, rising to her feet. I fell to one knee as well and stared at the ground. She walked forward, her heels making no noise at all. I looked up at caught sight of her ruined purple dress. If it was maintained, it would have been beautiful. "You are my husbands creation." She accused. I looked at the Dodo. Her head was bowed low and her eyes were closed. The queen stopped walking to stand in front of the Dodo. She stared down her nose at her and I swallowed hard. "What do you want from me?"

"The little human girl Alice needs to go home." The queen's eyes turned to me and I swallowed hard.

"Home…" said the Queen. "Why did you come here if you did not want to stay?" I opened my mouth but nothing came out. "Well?" She asked.

"I…I fell in." I stuttered. "I didn't mean to come here."

"Well," she said. "You are here. What have you learned?" I looked at the Dodo.

"The clock."

"SILENCE!" The queen snapped at the Dodo, who nodded once and kept her head low. I took the watch from my pocket to hand it to her. She took it from me and stared at the clock.

"Ah," said the queen. "You have learned a lot." The queen handed me my clock and turned around. "Tell me, little human. Do you want to stay here?" I looked at the clock and bit my lip.

"I want to go home." I said softly.

"That is not the question."

"No," I said softly. "I do not want to stay here."

"Why?" The queen asked.

"It's scary and there are creatures here that I'm sure I haven't met. I want to go home where I'll be safe with my family." The queen turned to me and stared.

"Your family?" asked the Queen. "You think they care?" I stared, feeling my chest tighten. They cared. "If they cared, wouldn't they have found you by now?"

"You can't find people in this place!" I objected. "It's too thick and dangerous!"

"This place is my home!" shouted the Queen, her eyes alight with a fire that scared me. I winced and tried to hide but there was no where.

"Your majesty, you're being unreasonable. You are the queen of this land," the Dodo stood and stared at her. "You are supposed to bring joy to this place. Not fear. How many people have come to see you? How many have sought your help? None. Because you have turned bitter. Your kingdom is in shambles because you are too much of a coward to stop your husband."

"I shall do things the way I want! I am queen!"

"Then act like it, your majesty." The queen turned away from us, her arms wrapping around herself.

"I am the queen here. You should not talk to me like that." The Dodo sighed softly and looked at me.

"Tell her why you want to leave."

"I already did," I muttered.

"Just do it."

"I want to leave," I said, staring at the Queen. "I want to leave because everything here is so dark and scary. Nothing makes me feel safe. Not even the people. They're all dangerous and no one is just simple. They are all…..they all have two sides to them. Can't you just keep them happy?" The Queen turned to me and stared.

"I'm afraid I haven't felt happy in a long time, Alice." She said, starting forward. "When I was first made queen, it was in a place far from here. I was happy, my husband was faithful and loved me. My husband was my only family. We were going to have a baby…she didn't make it though….and now this place is my family…this place makes me happy….even if everyone else is miserable. Do you understand why? Because all I need is my family… Families are supposed to be miserable."

"That's not true!" I shouted, starting forward. "Families are supposed to be happy. Sure they can be miserable every now and then but the happy parts are supposed to be what stand out the most, not the bad parts. You don't have a family here, you have a place that is dying because you're too depressed to move on. Why don't you confront your husband? Making a new place doesn't fix problems, your Majesty." The Queen stared at me and nodded.

"Perhaps you're right, young Alice. You remind me a lot of my Alyce. She was my only daughter….." The Queen sighed softly and sat on the broken throne. "Come here, Alice." I nodded and walked swiftly to her, curtsying as I stood in front of her. "You and the Dodo are right," she said with a soft sigh. "This place has been my cage for so long that I've lost what it means to have a family. Can you stay here and take care of this place for me? If I'm gone, then the scary things will go away. Ethan will teach you all you need to know about being Queen. I know he has been a good servant to me. Please stay here and protect Wonderland?" I hesitated and started to say no but she handed me her crown, her blue eyes spilling tears.

"Alice? Dodo?" Alyce's voice rang through the empty court. I looked back from the queen and at the Dodo, who was standing to collect Alyce and the Hatter.

"Child," said the Queen, placing the crown in my hands. My eyes frantically looked at the crown and then into her eyes. "Be good to my kingdom. She is a young one and she is a fragile one but if you love her, she will be a good one."

"Your majesty-"

"Please," she said softly. "Call me Cinderella." I nodded a little before squeezing the crown in my hands.

"Cinderella, I-" Her whole body disappeared though. She faded from her head downward until the last thing to disappear were her purple boots. The only evidence she had ever been there was the crown in my hands. "Thanks a lot," I sighed. "What am I supposed to do with this?"


	12. No Maze at All

**Author's note: The ending is...well not what most people would want. If you have an opinion, tell me! I'd love to hear it. Even if it is bad...But I'd rather ones that are nice and supportive. They do make me happy. Thank you for reading, even if you don't message me *cough*thoughyoushould*cough***

Chapter 12  
No Maze At All

"_Further down the hole we go/saddest creatures tugging at our clothes_"

_From A Fine Frenzy's Rangers_

I stared at the spot where Cinderella, otherwise known as the Queen of Hearts, Queen of Wonderland, Queen of CONFUSING THE CRAP OUT OF ME!, had just been. She told me all these things about family and how they're supposed to make you miserable then leaves me with a crown and, apparently, I'm going to be the next Queen of Wonderland. How does that even work! I was pulled out of my stupor when someone's hand waved in front of my face. Well, a lot of hands waved in front of my face. Six hands really: The Dodo, Hatter, Alyce, Dagan, Samson and…

"Who the heck are you?" I asked a tall man. He was lean and slender and a pale white. His eyes were an oddly calming red and his white hair matched Samson's. His ears were pointier than Samson's but I could see the resemblance. He wore a long white overcoat with a heart buckle hanging off a belt that kept the coat closed. He wore a black shirt under a striped waist coat from the 19th century. He seemed to be about Hatter or Alyce's age, almost as tall as the Dodo or the Hatter, and his hands were covered with white gloves that rested on my shoulder.

"Ethan…." he replied warily. "Did you hit your head or something?

"You're Ethan?" I exclaimed. He nodded and looked down at himself.

"I haven't been in this body for a very long time." He said as he looked up at me once more. "Where did the queen go?" he demanded.

"She said something about family and if she was gone, the bad things would be gone too and…" I shook my head and shrugged. "She wasn't making any sense!" I shouted frantically. "She handed me her crown and told me to take care of her kingdom! What the heck does that mean?" Alyce stared at me and after a second, took Ethan by the arm and pulled him away from me. The others followed, leaving me out of their giant circle. Awesome….I love being left out of giant circles.

"Alice," said Alyce as the group separated. "You're going to stay with Dagan, Samson and Ethan. Hatter and I are going to find the queen."

"Will you bring her back? I want to go home."

"Home? Alice," Alyce sighed and walked over to me. "Can't you make this your home?" I shook my head.

"I want to go to my family."

"Family doesn't end with blood," said the Dodo.

"You don't even have a family. You have _him_." I said as I glared at the Hatter. He laughed a little and shook his head.

"I'm great family," he muttered.

"I'm not a fan of you. I'm not a real fan of anyone here."

"Not even me?" Dagan asked, his ears folded downward.

"No, I like you Dagan," I said as I smiled.

"And me?" asked Samson. I bit my lip and tried to explain to him that I didn't dislike him either. I really only disliked the Hatter but with good reason!

"Why don't you want to stay here?" asked the Hatter. "You could be queen. You could run this place. Do whatever you wanted. Eat ice cream and cookies for dinner every single day for the rest of your life. You wouldn't have to grow up. You could be a kid forever."

"And," said the Dodo, who was crossing her arms. "You have nothing to go back to in your world than upset parents, annoying children, gloomy mornings and even gloomier nights. Heartbreak, formal education, restriction…."

"I need to think." I muttered as I walked away from all of them and gripped the crown in my hands. Alright, so I didn't have a _great_ life to go back to outside of this place but I had a life. I had parents who would forgive me, cousins who would look up to me, friends who would miss me… What else could I want? I had a promise of a future…a bright one at that! I turned around to look at everyone. Standing silently, they all stared at me. Cheshire, Samson and Alyce stared at me like I was going to stay. Hatter and Dodo looked at me like I was too scared to do anything. Ethan looked at me like he would support me with whatever I chose.

"Alice," said Ethan. "I served the Queen for a long time. If she chose you it's because she believes you'd be good for this place. She may not have known you long but she knows people." I sighed and rubbed my eyes. I was tired. It felt like weeks had gone by since I last lay down in a bed and slept.

"What about school? I mean, we can go to school now, us girls. We can get an education and I can be smart!"

"We have tutors here," said Ethan, stepping forward. "We have many things that the Queen once needed but grew bored with. We have anything you need, Alice."

"Please don't leave," said Dagan. I hadn't seen him so serious. He was usually smiling and amicable. He didn't have a bad bone in his body…Oh, well aside from the bad side he has when he's fighting bad people.

"There is so much bad here," I said looking out at the broken court.

"What is bad can be changed," said the Dodo.

"As long as there is a source of good strong enough, there can be a better Wonderland," finished the Hatter.

"I can't do this," I said as I looked down at the crown. "I'm not going to be good at this. I'm only sixteen!"

"You don't need an adult to be a good person."

"I can't change the whole world with goodness!" I shouted.

"Sure you can," said Samson. "You can do anything." I blushed deeply and ground my teeth.

"I can't."

"Why don't you stop saying what you can't do," snapped the Hatter. "And man up to say you wont do it. You won't stay and help us because you're selfish. You're just a brat who got lost. You know what, let's go. I'll bring you home to all your snooty little friends back there in the real world and you can just forget about us. Is that what you want?" He threw his hat to Alyce, who started to protest but the Dodo held her.

"Alice wants to leave us," said the Dodo. "We will live without a queen for a short time while you two retrieve her."

"We don't even know where she might be!" Alyce protested. "I don't know if she went home or…I just don't know."

"We'll hold down the fort, Alyce," said Dagan. "We can do it, as long as it's for a little while." I stared at them. They couldn't do it alone.

"We need Alice!" shouted Samson. "The Queen said we needed her. She picked Alice and without the 'OK' from her, we can't have a queen! We can't have anyone! We wont be able to keep the kingdom together!" I swallowed hard. The hatter was by my side, his eyes drilling into mine.

"See what you will do if you leave? This kingdom, this world, will be obliterated." He whispered to me as I stared at the ground. What was I supposed to say to that? I opened my mouth to say something but the ground under my feet rumbled and started to break. The room split in half and the floor began to empty out under our feet. Dagan, Samson, Alyce and Ethan jumped from the floor to stand on the collapsing ceiling while the Dodo floated where she was. The Hatter had me around the waist and we were suspended in the air.

"What's going on?" I shouted at the Hatter.

"The world is breaking. It can't handle being without magic for so long."

"How am I supposed fix this? I'm human!" The Hatter floated up to the others, who were gripping the walls tightly. He looked at Ethan.

"Do it." Ethan looked at me.

"Give me the crown, Alice. It's very important that you do." I handed him the crown, my hands sweaty and it almost slipped. He caught it, though, and quickly said something I couldn't hear before the grown began to glow. He said something but the sound of the breaking ground was too loud. I couldn't hear him or the Hatter. I saw their lips move but the words just didn't reach my ears. The Hatter reached into my pocket and took my clock before giving it to Ethan. He placed the clock on top of the glowing crown and handed it off to the Hatter. He blew on it, as if it were a candle he had to put out, and placed it in my hands. It was a long necklace and at the end was a small clock and a tiny crown. The Hatter said something but I couldn't hear it. He took my jaw in his hand and turned my head to the side so he could growl in my ear.

"Repeat, 'Kinumous, Quindantus, luminatis'. Now."

"K-k-iumous, quindantus, luminatis." The crown and clock began to glow brighter than before and everything began to glow. The hatter pulled me closer and we were suddenly falling. The whole room was falling up. The room was full of laughs, breaking glass, screeches, roars and countless other noises. It was like when I was first falling into Wonderland. It was the same thing. The world slowly found it's right place and my feet found the ground. I opened my eyes, still clinging to the Hatter.

"Okay," said Ethan.. Everyone was brushing themselves off, Dagan and Samson shaking their heads like the animals they were, and the Dodo fixing her hat. "We need to get the coronation set up. Samson, get the girls and find a few of the members of council. Are any of them still alive?"

"What's going on?" I demanded from the Hatter.

"You're going to be formally the queen in the eyes of Wonderland tonight," He bowed a little, his hand taking mine and holding it up gently. "My Queen." I stared at him and then looked at Alyce, who was smirking.

"Come on," she said as she lead me away from the Hatter. "I think there are a few people I can get the boys and Dormouse and Hare to round up."

"For what?"

"Your dress. You can't wear that," she said. "My Queen," she added with a smile. "I'm proud of you. You'll do fine as a queen." I nodded a little and swallowed hard.

"Will you be here to help me?" She shook her head.

"You'll have Samson and Dagan. They'll help you." I nodded and clung to her arm. "You don't want me to go?" I squeezed her arm gently.

"I don't want you to be gone for long." She placed her hand on my head and smiled.

"I'll return to your side quickly, my Queen."

The day was fading rapidly and while the light was diminishing, I was stuck in a tent with Alyce and a bunch of women. The castle had actually been destroyed in whatever I had done and now we were all in tents. I was far away from the others so they couldn't see me change and stuff. The women I was with made a dress that was definitely fitting for the 19th century. It was beautiful, though. It was made of white silk. The skirt was larger than I could even imagine and I felt like a blimp. My shoulders were bare and the cloth that went across my chest was a fine whispy, translucent cloth. The whole dress was covered in flowers of intricate design and I felt so bad that the so many women had been put to work on a dress I wasn't going to wear very often. They even gave me a fan that matched my dress. They took my blond hair and curled it in large tubes. They maneuvered my bangs so they parted and looked so elegant. They even put a little braid in it. It was so nice.

"Hurry ladies, hurry!" Alyce scolded.

"They're doing wonderfully," I said as I waved my hand. "Please don't feel rushed. Take as long as you need."

"Thank you, My Queen," said the women happily. "We're finished. We're so happy to know you're going to be queen. We're not sure what happened with the former Queen but already you seem to be so much happier. I hope our country can be better with you." I stared at her and smiled a little.

"We need to hurry ladies. The longer we wait, the less stable Wonderland will become." They stood and nodded to Alyce before bowing to me. Alyce took my hand and helped me into the heels I was supposed to wear. She had along black dress on, one that looked like mine only a different color. Her hair was still straight and didn't she didn't bother to do anything with it. She looked wonderful.

"You look very nice," I said smiling. She nodded a little and pet my shoulder.

"Let's get going. The boys are waiting." I hurried along to where the castle had been. In front of the spot where it once stood was a large throne. Ethan was quickly gathering all the people while he forced the Hatter and the Dodo to make large screens so apparently people around wonderland could see me and all the rest of us. I looked at Ethan. He hadn't changed. The Hatter was dressed in a suit that matched Alyce's dress. The Dodo was dressed in a long dress that had been from China. It was tight against her luscious body and it was a bright white with a few black flowers along the bottom.

Dagan was dressed in a handsome tuxedo that was black and his purple hair clashed. He looked very manly, though he wasn't sure how to work the purple tie that was around his neck. Samson was dressed in a white suit that matched his hair and ears. He was messing around with his hair, unsure of what was going on with the snow white mess. I walked over to Dagan and fixed his tie gently, smiling up at him. He stood a little taller and smiled at me. I walked over to Samson and moved his hands from his hair before brushing it over his eyes then moving the collective hair to the right. I looked between the two of them.

"You are a couple of handsome men."

"You look beautiful," said the boys together. I smiled while my cheeks turned a pale pink.

"Alice," said Ethan. "Come stand here," he ordered as I turned to see him. He lead me to the middle of the isle I had to walk down. Dagan and Samson stood on one side of the row while the Alyce and Hatter stood on the other. The Dodo and Ethan stood at the end, waiting for me. I walked down the isle slowly, thinking how embarrassing this was. I fiddled with the necklace that was around my neck. Ethan cleared his throat.

"Welcome, all people of Wonderland!" he proclaimed. "We are going to crown our new Queen! She will bring us happiness and joy! Please welcome, Alice!" The crowd that was there applauded loudly and I smiled at them all. "Let me have the necklace." I took it off and handed it to him. "The previous queen gave Alice her crown. Now, we the people will give her a new crown. Together, brothers and sisters, welcome our new queen!" They shouted something and the Dodo took the necklace. In her hands, it began to glow and it floated before glowing a bright white. When it finally landed in her hands, it was a silver crown with Roman numerals around the band. In the middle, in the form of many diamond pieces were clocks and deep red hearts.

"Welcome," said the Dodo. "Queen of Hearts and Queen of Wonderland." I lowered my head and she placed the crown on my head carefully so I wouldn't mess up my hair. She nodded a little and bowed, as did the rest of the people. I turned around and smiled at everyone. Behind me, the ruins of the old, gloomy castle began to build itself into a modest castle that would be just right for me and all the things I'd need. Ethan and the others stood.

"A new Wonderland has been made! Let us all join together to keep it happy and beautiful." The people clapped once more and I nodded to them a little.

"Thank you," I said smiling to everyone. "I hope I will do this great land proud."

"Alyce! Alyce!" shouted the twins. They looked rough. They looked like they had faced an army.

"Boys?"

"They're-They're coming!" they gasped.

"Who?"

"The Chess-Board army." She looked at Hatter, who sighed.

"Looks like the Queen will wait."

"Who's here?"

"The King and Queen of Spades." Said Ethan solemnly. "They're probably looking for more land." The Hatter took off his overcoat and rolled up his sleeves.

"We're going to need help," he said.

"Yes," said Alyce as she sighed a little. "Boys, go get some of those stuffy shirts. Perhaps while they try to discuss this peacefully, we can gather our army. It has been a long time since we used those old Cards."

"I'm so confused," I muttered.

"Welcome to the first day on the job," said the Dodo. "Prepare for war, your majesty."


End file.
